Some ten months after selecting its key service providers, European cross-border pension plan RESAVER is poised to begin operations in March 2017. A brainchild of the European Commission, RESAVER is a pension plan specially designed for highly mobile researchers working at public and private research institutions and universities, SMEs, and research and technical development companies. It is advised by Aon Hewitt; BlackRock won the initial investment management mandate; and

Sweden has made a number of changes to their Anti-Discrimination Act as of January 1, 2017. These include extending the scope of an act requiring all employers to take active measures to bring about equal rights and opportunities in the workplace regardless of gender, ethnicity and religion to include transgender identity or expression, disability, sexual orientation, and age. Other developments include a requirement for comprehensive documentation of all employers’

The government of the United Kingdom in December 2016 published a revised version of the gender pay gap regulations that come into force in April, 2017. These regulations require private sector employers within the U.K. with at least 250 employees to publish certain information about the differences in pay between men and women. It is anticipated that 34 percent of the total U.K. workforce (7,960 employers and around 11

Egon Zehnder in March 2017 released the findings of its Leaders & Daughters Global Survey, which tracks working women’s motivations, ambitions, and their own definition of professional success. Findings highlighted seven countries – Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, India, the United States, and the United Kingdom – and shows global similarities between women at different stages of their careers. The findings indicate that while the majority of women in the

Aetna International is expanding into the Canadian market to provide tailored coverage for expatriate clients. With the main office in Toronto, Aetna expects to open additional offices throughout 2017 and is actively hiring staff to fill key roles. Carrie Chapman in September 2016 was appointed country manager for Canada, reporting to Richard di Benedetto, president and CEO of Aetna International. The plans offered by Aetna will cover everyone whether

The annual Benefits and Trends Survey, released in February 2017 by Aon Employee Benefits, the U.K. health and benefits business of Aon plc, reveals that 90% of the 200 employers surveyed want increased employee engagement and understanding of benefits packages. However, what was telling was that only 36% have a specific communications strategy in place. The survey also shed light on employer actions and intentions. Aon commented that the

While publication of solvency ratios for the insurance industry is not a requirement, many companies do publish this information as part of their risk appetite and financial targets. The E.U. solvency regime, called Solvency II, also allows countries operating outside the E.U., ‘third country insurers’, to operate and comply with E.U. rules. The chart, compiled by Guy Carpenter, a Marsh & McLennan company, and published in February 2017, shows

Results of the Deloitte Global Chief Procurement Officer Survey 2017 point to reducing costs in the face of global uncertainty as the biggest priority Chief Procurement Officers (CPOs) face. Eighty-four percent of the CPOs surveyed in North America said that managing risks is the second highest priority, indicating that they are taking a cautious approach at a time when risks include weakness and volatility in emerging markets and rising

Aetna International in February 2017 announced the appointment of Andy O’Cain as New Business Sales Director, in charge of the development and growth of the self insured corporate sector (ASO) in the large group market. Based in the U.K., Andy joins Aetna International from Cigna Insurance Services where he was Head of Sales and Business Development, having previously been Head of Travel Development. Prior to Cigna, Andy was Head

Just days after hiring Jay Fulcher as CEO to replace David Sacks, the interim CEO who took over after former CEO Parker Conrad was ousted over a fraud investigation, Zenefits in February 2017 announced a third and largest round of layoffs in a year that saw the embattled company fined $7 million as part of a settlement with the state of California. The layoffs are part of a plan

Zenefits, designers of all-in-one HR solutions for small businesses, has appointed Jay Fulcher as executive officer and chairman of the board effective in February, 2017. Fulcher, who formerly served as president and CEO of Ooyala, as well as executive vice president of Peoplesoft, brings more than 20 years of senior management experience to Zenefits at a key time in its evolution. The announcement comes days after the company’s second

Aon in February 2017 sold its human resources business process outsourcing (BPO) platform and operations to private equity firm and alternative asset manager Blackstone for $4.3 billion plus an additional $500 million earn-out based on future performance. Closing is expected by the end of the second quarter of 2017. The sale, according to Aon’s website, is a “natural extension of the strategy the firm has pursued over the last

Cigna’s global expatriate segment, Cigna Global Health Benefits Europe (Cigna GHB), in February 2017 announced the promotion of Raymond Linnartz to the senior management position of European Sales Director. Linnartz, who has almost 17 years’ experience in sales and business development, has been with Cigna for 11 years. He was previously with Aon and Mercer in multiple roles as an adviser on employee benefits solutions to Fortune 500 companies.

Cigna’s global expatriate segment, Cigna Global Health Benefits Europe (Cigna GHB), in February 2017 announced the promotion of Frank Indestege to Market Development Director, Europe. His new duties at Cigna GBH will include responsibility for business development projects and strategic partnerships across Europe. His remit will include identifying product and partnership needs for strategic markets, notably France, Germany, and the Nordic territories. Indestege, who holds a Master’s degree in

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in February 2017 published the 2016 edition of its yearly global insurance market trends report. Since the early 1980s, the OECD has collected and analyzed data on insurance in OECD countries. Since 2008, the Global Insurance Statistics project has extended the global reach of the database and expanded the data collected which now includes not only the number of insurance companies

The U.S. district court for the District of Columbia in February 2017 has blocked health insurer Anthem’s proposed merger with Cigna, citing antitrust concerns in respect of large national employers. Anthem announced it will appeal the decision, whilst Cigna “evaluates its options”. U.S. district judge Amy Berman Jackson found that “the merger is likely to result in higher prices”. Earlier in 2017, the same U.S. district court had found

Cigna Global Health Benefits in June 2016 announced the appointment of Neil Irwin as Head of Global Distribution. In this role, Neil will be responsible for cross-market growth and development of Cigna’s globally mobile group health business across multiple client and customer segments around the globe. Before joining Cigna, Neil was Managing Director at Marsh and was responsible for developing client relationships and driving growth, strategic insurer relationships, marketing

Cigna Global Health Benefits in September 2016 announced an expanded partnership with African-based insurer, Hollard Insurance Group. Hollard and Cigna have created a fully compliant health insurance product in sub-Saharan Africa, Hollard Cigna Health, that meets the legal requirements of globally mobile staff as well as regional expats and key local nationals from corporations with operations in the region. A pan-African product, it is able to cater to national

The MAXIS GBN pooling network on February 7, 2017, officially opened its new headquarters in London, U.K., located at 11 Monument Street in the City. Since its launch in 1998, MAXIS, an AXA-MetLife partnership, had been managed from Paris and New York City. According to CEO Mauro Dugulin, in the present context of diminishing returns on multinational pooling; increasing interest in the use of captives; a greater thirst for

Humanis, a large French group insurance carrier, since 2013 has published a yearly survey of French expatriates. Here are some key takeaways from the January 2017 edition: French expats like living abroad, and 95% of them would recommend that their friends give expatriation a try. 64% of French expats do not expect to return home in the next five years.   39% of French expats would like to create