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GBV

GBV

Global Benefits Vision Author Team, are Expert journalists, dedicated to providing accurate, high value business information.

Everyone claims to be a solution provider. But even those who manage to provide solutions rather than pure products face a crucial question: Is business designed around solutions still in touch with the modern client?

The Dutch pension system, and the frequent changes in that system, have been the subject of many (international) publications over the past decades. Readers of such publications are very likely to have lost track, as there probably have been too many changes to digest.

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Are Alternative Investments Suitable Assets for Long-Term Insurance Liabilities and Pension Funds? In a low-interest rate world, alternative investments may provide some relief – and unexpected benefits Eric Muller-Borle Pan-European Group Life/Health Plans A Viable Alternative to Local Plans Chris Ennis Making Mobility Manageable Paul Pittman Increased Longevity and Pensions in Brazil Employers and Employees are Taking Notice Eduardo Freitas Sending Employees into Harm’s Way – and Yourself into

Mobility has never been in the mainstream of HR. Originally few employees transferred among international locations, and those that did were a nomadic and independent bunch. They completed one assignment and then moved on to the next one or returned home; as long as their occasional updates to HQ showed progress they were left alone.

Brazil’s Social Security sector has undergone several transformations since it was implemented in the distant year of 1821, when the country still was a Portuguese colony. The existing models date back to 1923, when the country’s railway companies created a Retirement and Pensions Fund to cover their employees. Today, Brazil has three main pension schemes: the General Pension Scheme, managed by the National Social Security Institute and run by the government, to which all formally employed workers are entitled; the Special Public Servants’ Regimes; and Supplemental Pension Plans.

As global markets turn more positive and the financial markets recover, employees are turning their attention to better managing their talent and headcount. While cost and efficiencies remain the key priorities in global mobility and business travel programs, we also see a new focus emerging: a duty of care to employees.

In a low-interest rate world, alternative investments may provide some relief – and unexpected benefits too. In today’s financial markets characterized by very low interest rates, higher-than-expected risks, and high volatility in equity prices, investing for the long term is a challenging proposition. Decent returns, even at the unexciting level of one two percentage points above inflation, may be difficult to achieve without bearing substantial risk.

Most multinational companies have a single property and casualty insurance policy that covers their factories and offices around the world in case of flood or fire or theft. But when it comes to global employee benefits, many have a different contract—or even many more than one—for each country, through several brokers, and a pooling or captive arrangement to boot.

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Sleep and Health – The Forgotten Link DB Plans in Mexican Universities De-risking against the flow Denise Gómez-Hernández Crossing the Chasm From consultant to corporate C&B manager Fabiàn Bukschtein News from Belgium An Update on Pensions and Blue Collar Vs White Collar Michel Moreau Postpaid Health Insurance Plans in Brazil  Better Service Quality, Prevention and Management? Eduardo Freitas IGP Conference Report The “Changing Workforce” is upon us Adherence to

Human resources has successfully partnered with various functional areas for many years. Finance and HR partner to manage costs and optimize the value of compensation packages and other employee rewards. Operations and HR partner on devising solutions for work design, scheduling, and staffing. Marketing and HR partner to convert the firm’s brand into organizational culture and an employer brand.

Navigating the ever-changing global HR, Law & Tax, and Communications maze: An interview with Guy Abbiss, Managing Partner of Abbiss Cadres LLP and one of the founders of the CELIA Alliance of professional service firms

Depending on health insurance plans is a common reality in Brazil. According to figures released by the Brazilian Geography and Statistics Institute (IBGE) in June, 27.9% of the population had some type of health insurance plan in 2013, and more than one-third of the monthly payments were made by the policyholder’s employer. If we consider that this data is from 2013, we can assume that the total amount of private health insurance purchased by companies for their employees is even higher today.

The 2015 IGP Conference held in Boston, MA, IGP’s hometown, included three presentations that provided unique perspectives on otherwise well-known topics. GBV reports on the impact of a changing workforce and on adherence to a global benefits structure in this issue and will cover progressing from a wellness program to an integrated wellbeing approach in the March 2016 Special Issue about Wellness.

The MAXIS Conference devoted to sleep, “Sleep, a Business Case for Bedtime: The hidden Global Health Issue Impacting Employee Performance,” took place in November 2015 in Amsterdam, with the support of Zilveren Kruis, the health insurance division of Achmea.

Demographic factors and the current socio-economic context present major challenges to the statutory (i.e., state) pensions system. Lowering the statutory pension age is not an option, nor is increasing contributions. These two factors together inevitably lead to a tightening of the conditions for access to statutory pensions and to early retirement, as recent government measures in this area confirm.

While Mexico’s principal mandatory pension system began as a Defined Benefit (DB) program in 1973, in 1997 it was changed to a Defined Contribution (DC) plan, with individual accounts managed by financial institutions such as banks and insurance companies. This DC system is still open to new members, while the DB pension one is closed.

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In June 2010, Benefits & Compensation International published an article by Ms. Le Men-Tenailleau on variable compensation for bankers. It focused on the employment and tax law aspects of the regulations issued by the French government in 2009 and 2010, following the Pittsburgh G20 summit of September 2009.

Executive pay is a high-profile topic and almost everyone has an opinion on it. Many shareholders, workers and politicians believe the entire system is broken and requires a substantial overhaul. But, despite being well-intentioned, their suggested reforms may not be targeting the elements of pay most critical for shareholder value and society.

Negotiation is something we all do every day – both at work and in our private lives. But we don’t often sit back to think about the process. It’s natural, isn’t it? Well, actually, no.

Captive insurance has been an increasingly popular alternative risk transfer mechanism for U.S. companies for decades. But what may come as a surprise is that one of the great growth opportunities isn’t a new property or casualty exposure. It’s employee benefits.

Global Benefits Vision: What is AEIP’s mission in general terms and how does it relate to global employee benefits? Bruno Gabellieri: AEIP is mainly a lobbyist organization; it is registered as a special-interest lobby with the European Parliament and the European Commission. I am also registered with EIOPA as an independent member of the occupational pensions stakeholder group, because I’m the Secretary-General of AEIP.

Negotiating Across Cultures Sir Richard Lewis and  Michael Gates The Promise of More to Come: U.S. Benefit Captives on the Verge of a Breakthrough Peter Bandarenko How CEOs should be Paid: Beware vesting periods! Alex Edmans Banker’s Bonuses: French Legal Aspects Stéphanie Le Men Interview Bruno Gabellieri, Secretary General AEIP: Expert facilitator serving European ideals  

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Extending an existing P/C captive to EB Marine Charbonnier and Thierry Mestach UK Group Risk market update Paul Avis Mobility of workers in the EU and related impact on social rights Francesco Briganti Why companies need to think long term Alex Edmans An Interview with Lockton Benefits President Bob Reiff