Former Novartis ceo Dan Vasella’s 2009 bonus will be close to three times the amount he would be due based on relative earnings growth among large cap peers, according to a report compiled by UK proxy voting agency Manifest and Swiss consultancy Obermatt, Reuters writes.

The estimated payout will total about $5.96 million. And that would be around $3.8 millionabove the maximum level calculated by Obermatt, which bases its bonus recommendation on the number of peers a company outperforms - the more peers are beaten, the higher the bonus. Novartis couldn’t confirm the estimated bonus level for 2009. “Dr. Vasella’s base as well as total compensation is in line with that of CEOs from other large healthcare companies,” a Novartis spokeswoman tells Reuters.

Vasella stepped down as ceo this week after 14 years, but remains chairman, and his pay package of nearly $19 million has come under fire from investors, Reuters notes. “The company needs to articulate to investors why they think it’s appropriate to pay such a level of bonus when the economic performance of the company would not appear to justify it,” Manifest ceo Sarah Wilson tells Reuters. “It is shareholders’ money after all and it is reasonable that they get some kind of explanation.”

The study, which measures estimated bonus payouts against core earnings, found Novartis was in the bottom quartile of a group of 91 global blue chip companies. Vasella should receive a bonus payout of 50 percent of target bonus levels, according to Reuters, which notes that Novartis stock has struggled during Vasella’s tenure, and has barely moved in a decade. It closed out 2009 at 56.5 Swiss francs, against 56.75 in May 2001.