In the May 2019 issue Fulfilling the diversity of employee needs: are cafeteria-style benefits plans the future? – Olivia Dunn R&D: The Legal Profession Has A Mental Health Problem – Neil Graffin, Emma Jones, Mathijs Lucassen, Rajvinder Samra R&D: The Opioid Crisis Is Not About Pain – David Walton R&D: Using Painkillers for Emotional Relief – Kev Dertadian R&D: Feel Like Time Is Flying? How to Slow It Down

Fulfilling the diversity of employee needs: are cafeteria-style benefits plans the future? The Legal Profession Has A Mental Health Problem The Opioid Crisis Is Not About Pain Using Painkillers for Emotional Relief Feel Like Time Is Flying? How to Slow It Down Out of Shape? How to Start Exercising Simple Steps to Keep You Safe from Malaria Parkinson’s: Four Unusual Signs You May Be at Risk

Worldwide Broker Network (WBN) in May 2019 appointed Alan Fergusson as Employee Benefits Director and member of the executive staff, based in the UK. He reports to WBN CEO Francie Starnes and replaces LeAnne Stefl who joins Gallagher as head of global benefits. Alan held his previous position as managing director of Mattioli Woods after selling his company – Kudos Financial Services in 2011. He has previously served on

Independent captive management firm USA Risk Group‘s senior management team in May 2019 completed a management buyout from Spencer Capital Holdings. The buyout includes operations from all jurisdictions USA Risk Group operates in. The senior management team includes Paul Macey as President; Rob Leadbetter, Senior Vice President and Charmain Aggarwal, Vice President. Jeanne Crawford leads the Barbados office; John Tortell, the Malta office; and Steven Lill, the Cayman Islands

As experts in your field, we would appreciate two minutes of your valuable time to answer ten questions to help us best serve our industry, and set the future direction of our GBV magazine +website. For our appreciation of completing the survey, we are offering a one-month, free subcription to GBV magazine and all back issues. Please note your coupon code at the end of the survey and click

Out of 25 OECD countries for which data are available, the United States, Canada, Sweden, Norway, Ireland, England, and Wales experienced a rise in the average of opioid-related deaths (ORD) of more than 20% from 2011-2016. These findings are highlighted in the May 2019 OECD release: Addressing Problematic Opioid Use in OECD Countries, which calls for governments to take urgent action to combat the rise of ORD. In Canada,

The OECD in May 2019 published its Economic Outlook, containing analysis and projections for its 36 member countries and other major economies. A summary of the Economic Outlook and key data is accessible at http://www.oecd.org/economy/economic-outlook/. A special chapter in the Outlook analyses the ongoing digital transformation of the economy and complementary effects on productivity, which is one of the key themes of the 2019 OECD Forum and Ministerial Council

U.S. health insurer and administrator Cigna and pharmacy benefit management organization Express Scripts in May 2019 announced they collaborated with Amazon Alexa, a virtual assistant device, to produce two new voice skills. Express Scripts customers who use prescription home delivery services will now be able to manage their pharmacy prescriptions using voice technology. By saying “Alexa, open Express Scripts”, users can monitor their prescription order status and receive notifications

As experts in your field, we would appreciate two minutes of your valuable time to answer ten questions to help us best serve our industry, and set the future direction of our GBV magazine +website. For our appreciation of completing the survey, we are offering a one-month, free subcription to GBV magazine and all back issues. Please note your coupon code at the end of the survey and click

8th  WPC Forum, Brussels 23 & 24 May 2019: Pension and Insurance in the ‘Age of Geoeconomics’ Nicolas J. Firzli is Director-General of the World Pensions Council (WPC), a Paris, France-based international association of public and private pension institutions, and an Advisory Board Member for the World Bank Group Global Infrastructure Facility (GIF). GBV: Nicolas, you are one of the original coiners of terms such as ‘The New Silk

Opioid-related deaths have been rising over recent years in North America and globally. New data released by the Public Health Agency of Canada reveals that more than 10,300 Canadians died as a result of an apparent opioid-related overdose between January 2016 and September 2018.

Set in a fictional firm in New York, the TV series Suits glamorises the life of lawyers working in a modern corporate firm. One of the main characters, Harvey Specter, dresses impeccably in an expensive designer suit and expects others around him to do the same. The lawyers in the firm are hugely ambitious, work late into the night (we rarely see them away from the office) and demand excellence in everything they do. For these professionals, work is life. This is, we are led to believe, what a lawyer’s life could be like.

A cultural shift in the workplace towards satisfying individual employee needs means attracting and retaining talented staff now requires a deeper understanding of the personal resources employees need to flourish. Conceptualizing benefits as resources may help explain how many leading organizations are enjoying enhanced employee wellbeing, engagement and increased productivity through transitioning to cafeteria-style benefits plans.

Do you move around a lot during your sleep? Or have you lost your sense of smell? New insights into Parkinson’s disease suggest that these might be the early signs of changes in the brain that mean you are at greater risk of developing Parkinson’s.

Every death from malaria is a tragedy. But many infections can be prevented. This is particularly true for holidaymakers, travellers, or people visiting their families in malaria endemic areas. All they need to do is follow some very simple rules. Malaria is a complicated disease – I should know, after studying it for more than 30 years – but the solutions to avoiding and treating it can be as simple as “ABCD”. If the basics of prevention are followed, a great deal of unnecessary illness and mortality can be avoided.

Perhaps your GP has recommended you exercise more, or you’ve had a recent health scare. Maybe your family’s been nagging you to get off the couch or you’ve decided yourself that it’s time to lose some weight.How do you find the motivation, time and resources to get fit, particularly if you haven’t exercised in a while? How do you choose the best type of exercise? And do you need a health check before you start?

Sometimes it seems as if life is passing us by. When we are children, time ambles by, with endless car journeys and summer holidays which seem to last forever. But as adults, time seems to speed up at a frightening rate, with Christmas and birthdays arriving more quickly every year.

Australians are increasingly using prescription or over-the-counter painkillers to ease emotional, rather than physical, pain. Our cultural understanding of pain is changing, and as a result it’s becoming more difficult to distinguish intoxication from relief.

Nike, in January 2019, promoted Daniela Carstea as Director, EMEA & Asia Benefits, based in Hilversum. Carstea held her previous position as Global Benefits Manager since 2016 and was also a Global Employee Benefits consultant from 2013 to 2015. She left Nike briefly from 2015 to 2016 to be  Benefits Management Europe Lead for Teva Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that she was with Nike EMEA as a Global Employee Benefits

AXA, in April 2019, promoted Yann Illouz to Group Pension and Savings Director. He was previously the Group Pension and Savings deputy director and chief sales officer since joining AXA in 2018. Illouz came to AXA from Arial CNP Assurances, where he was Deputy General Manager from 2014 to 2018, and CNP Europe Life, where he was most recently Head of Retirement Services, as well as CEO from 2009

Vivium, in May 2019, announced that Hans Callebaut has joined the company as Commercial Manager, Employee Benefits, based in Antwerp, Belgium. Callebaut was previously with Mercer Marsh Benefits Belgium where he was Country Leader, and AG insurance, where he was Head of New Business AG Employee Benefits. He holds a Master’s Degree in Business Economics from VLEKHO, and a Master’s degree in Germanic Philology from Vrije Unifersiteit Brussel.

The newly established Dajia Insurance Group will absorb Anbang Insurance Group’s life, pension and asset management businesses, according to a May 2019 statement from the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission. Dajia Baoxian, which translates to “Everyone Insurance,” will engage in businesses ranging from insurance underwriting to consulting and brokering. Some investment-type policies sold by Anbang in excess of quotas assigned by the government (for up to 724 billion

The OECD in April 2019 released its 2019 edition of the OECD Employment Outlook, which presents new evidence on changes in job stability, underemployment and the share of well-paid jobs available. The report also discusses the policy implications of these changes with respect to how technology, globalization, population ageing, and other mega-trends are transforming the labor market in OECD countries. The report also focuses on how labor market regulation

According to the OECD’s latest Employment Outlook 2019, released April 2019 as part of the OECD’s Future of Work initiative, governments need to overhaul their approach to employment and jobs to reduce further social and economic tensions. Without rapid action, many people, particularly the low skilled, will be left behind. Among the findings of the report: A rising number of young people with less than tertiary educations in many

The U.S. Economy The Conference Board released its findings for the U.S. economy on 10 April, 2018. The group indicates that the U.S. economy has slowed a great deal since the middle of 2018, to just over 2 percent in the first half of 2019. Although set to see “solid though not spectacular performance this year”, 2019 data so far point to more challenging business conditions than 2018. While

The 2019 edition of the European Association of Paritarian Institutions‘ (AEIP) annual conference will be held on 6 November 2019 in Brussels, Belgium. The conference venue and agenda will be announced soon. Contact: info@aeip.net  

Zurich Insurance in April 2019 announced that Paolo Marini is now Global Head, Customer and Distribution Management – Corporate Life and Pensions (CLP). Marini was previously Director of Global Customer & Distribution Management and Global Head, Customer Management for CLP. Previous to his tenure at Zurich, Marini was Director of Sales, Marketing, and Communication and a regional manager for Generali Employee Benefits. He holds a political science degree from