The agenda of the 8th World Pensions Forum, held at The Brussels Grand–Place, 23-24 May 2019, and organized in association with the European Association of Paritarian Institutions (AEIP) now is finalized. The forum will focus on pension and retirement governance, pension law and regulation, long-term investment and risk management in the “Post-Brexit Era”. Plenary panels include: a discussion of the latest advances in the field of ESG and Impact

Luxembourg-based captive manager Sogecore in April 2019 acquired Abacus Risk Management Services in Malta. Abacus manages and operates captives and insurance carriers on behalf of their owners; it also offers Protected Cell Company (PCC) services. What is a PCC? A PCC is essentially a slice of a single insurance or reinsurance carrier that operates separately from other such slices in the same carrier. The carrier’s license and support functions

UK rewards and benefits consulting firm Benefex in April 2019 announced the appointment of Stephen Hackett to the position of Head of Corporate Benefits, based in Southampton, UK. Hackett joins Benefex after a previous position as Director, Employer Services, for Broadstone Corporate Benefits in London. He was also Head of Health & Risk proposition for Aon Employee Benefits in London. He has held other leadership positions at Capita Employee

Safran Seats, a French suppliers of aircraft seats for passengers, crews and helicopters, in April 2019 announced that Emma Voisin has joined the company as Director of Compensation and Benefits. Voisin was previously with Orano, most recently as Global C&B and International Mobility Manager. She also served in Global Compensation & Benefits, C&B International Mobility advisor, and Expatriate/Impatriate Coordinator. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications Science, Communication, HR,

The UK government in April 2019 published practical guidance on social security contributions for UK and EU internationally-mobile workers in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal. This guidance also includes actions UK employers would need to take for outbound employees to the EU. This follows draft legislation published in December 2018 by the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) regarding the UK’s proposals to

Alcon in April 2019 announced it had added Sahil Batra to its staff as Senior Asia Benefits Manager, based in Singapore. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, Alcon is a global eye care provider. It was founded in Fort Worth, Texas; Fort Worth still is “a major operational, commercial, and innovation hub”. According to the company’s website, Alcon is “the largest eye care device company in the world” and has “complementary

According to information prepared by Deloitte UK in April 2019, the UK government has published practical guidance on the social security contributions position for UK and EU internationally mobile workers if the UK leaves the EU without a deal and actions UK employers would then need to take for UK outbound assignees to the EU. This follows on from draft legislation published by the Department of Work and Pensions

Mercer in April 2019 announced the promotion of Alana Rae to Senior Associate, based in Edinburgh. Her areas of expertise include providing consulting advice and managing broking activity on international risk and medical plans. Rae began her career at Mercer as an international benefits analyst based in London and moved up to assistant lead for Mercer’s Centre of Excellence for Mobility Benefits (EuroPac) in London. She relocated to Edinburgh

The flag carrier airline of the Netherlands, KLM, in April 2019 announced the promotion of Albert Smidt to Senior Consultant, Pensions & Insurable Benefits, effective in May. He was previously a consultant in the same division. Prior to joining KLM, Smidt was Consultant Consensys for Fortis Bank (Nederland) where he served in an advisory role working with corporate clients on their employee benefits. Previous to that, he was Senior

Aon in April 2019 that Sven Roelandt has joined their Antwerp, Belgium office as Global Expert for Employee Benefits Financing Strategies & Carrier Relations. Roelandt comes to Aon from Further Financial Services in Madrid, Spain, where he served as Director of Employee Benefits. Previous to that, he was with General Employee Benefits where he served as Regional Manager WEMEA, and Area Manager Nordics and Benelux.  He was also Regional

A report published by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in April 2019, Under Pressure: The Squeezed Middle Class, suggests that governments need to do more to support middle-class households who are struggling to maintain their economic weight and lifestyles as their stagnating incomes fail to keep up with the rising costs of housing and education. This new analysis “delivers a bleak picture and a call for

Aegon Nederland in April 2019 appointed Annemarie Vanhommerig to their Compensation and Benefits division in The Hague, Netherlands. Vanhommerig comes to Aegon from Accenture after 11 years in various positions, most recently as country lead for Compensation and Benefits in Amsterdam.bShe also served as Benelux specialty coordinator Mobility, and Mobility country lead NL, and was a member of their Accenture Works Council. She holds a Master’s degree in Business

It may sound as if the journalist corps in April 2019 successfully plotted to keep the never-ending story alive, but the fact is, the Brexit saga has been given a new lease of life on the eve of one of its many potential endings. That particular ending would have been an unhappy one, but still who cares… So, what does the new episode look like? Well, the updated decision

Alastair Noyce Queen Mary University of London Clinical Senior Lecturer in Preventive Neurology Alastair is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Preventive Neurology Unit at the Wolfson Institute of Preventive Medicine, Queen Mary University of London, and a Neurology Registrar for Barts Health NHS Trust. His main research interests are Parkinson’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders, particularly early identification and epidemiology, including environmental, clinical and genetic determinants. His other

Patrick Lewis University of Reading Associate Professor in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience My research is focused on understanding the molecular pathways that lead to inherited Parkinson’s disease linked to mutations in Leucine rich repeat kinase 2 (LRRK2). Mutations in this gene are the single most common genetic cause of Parkinson’s disease, affecting 5-10,000 people in the UK alone. LRRK2 itself is a multidomain enzyme, possessing both kinase and GTPase

John Frean University of the Witwatersrand Principal Pathologist, Centre for Emerging, Zoonotic and Parasitic Diseases, National Institute for Communicable Diseases and Wits Research Institute for Malaria John’s present position is Principal Pathologist, Associate Professor and Head, Centre for Opportunistic, Tropical and Hospital Infections of the National Institute for Communicable Diseases in Johannesburg, South Africa. Academic affiliation is the Wits Research Institute for Malaria, School of Pathology, Faculty of Health

Andrew Lavender Curtin University Lecturer, School of Physiotherapy and Exercise Science Dr Andrew Lavender completed a Bachelor of Science in Sports Science and a Master of Science in Sports Science at Edith Cowan University before beginning PhD at Yokohama City University in 2002 under the Supervision of Professor Kazunori Nosaka. His research in exercise induced muscle damage in older individuals extended the previous work of Prof Nosaka in young

Steve Taylor Leeds Beckett University Senior Lecturer in Psychology Steve Taylor is the author of Making Time: Why Time Seems to Pass at Different Speeds and how to Control it. He is a senior lecturer in psychology at Leeds Beckett University and the current chair of the Transpersonal Section of the British Psychological Society. Dr Taylor teaches mainly on the Psychology and Society course, and is the Module Leader

Kev Dertadian University of New South Wales Lecturer in Criminology Kev is a Criminologist and Sociologist with broad interests in drug use, violence, social marginalisation, as well as related areas of social and cultural theory. He has conducted several research projects on the non-medical use of pain medications as well as the social position of people who inject drugs. Research Areas – alcohol and other drugs, the sociology of

David Walton Western University Associate Professor, School of Physical Therapy David Walton is an Associate Professor with the School of Physical Therapy at Western University, Director and Lead Researcher of the Pain and Quality of Life Integrative Research Lab at Western. Outside of the university, he is an Associate Scientist with the Lawson Health Research Institute, an Honorary Associate Professor in the Discipline of Physiotherapy at the University of

Rajvinder Samra The Open University Lecturer in Health I am a lecturer in the Faculty of Health and Social Care at The Open University. I have studied Psychology (BSc, University of Manchester), Occupational Psychology (MSc, University of Nottingham) and Applied Psychology (PhD, University of Nottingham). My PhD explored doctors’ and medical students’ attitudes toward older patients and their care in healthcare settings. I have an interest in attitudes research, both the qualitative exploration

Emma Jones The Open University Senior Lecturer in Law Emma joined the School of Law as a Lecturer in Law in December 2014 and became a Senior Lecturer in October 2018. She has worked as an Associate Lecturer on a variety of law modules since 2006. She is completing her PhD thesis (on the role of emotion in legal education) with Keele University. She is a qualified solicitor (non-practising) and has a PGCE

Mathijs Lucassen The Open University Senior Lecturer in Mental Health I originally trained as an occupational therapist, and have worked clinically in mental health services in both England and New Zealand. Immediately prior to starting work at the Open University I worked as a lecturer and research fellow at the Department of Psychological Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Auckland.

Neil Graffin The Open University Lecturer in Law Neil is a Lecturer in International Law at The Open University. Prior to this Neil studied for a PhD in Law in Queen’s University Belfast, where he also completed both his undergraduate and postgraduate degrees. Neil has also worked as an Associate Lecturer with The Open University and a Teaching Assistant at Queen’s University. Neil’s research interests are within international human

Olivia Dunn olivia.dunn@easypooling.com Global Benefits Vision Editorial Assistant Olivia has worked in the insurance and benefits industry for several years. She holds a Bachelor of International Relations from Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, and recently completed a Graduate Diploma of Science in Psychology at the University of Auckland, New Zealand. Alongside her role as Editorial Assistant at GBV she works as Digital Specialist for Vitality Works, a Sanitarium company delivering