Suicide rates in the United States have increased by 25-30 percent since 1999. This is particularly true for youth ages 12-24, with increases of approximately 30 percent over the same period. In Alachua County, Florida, where I teach and practice at the University of Florida, the base rate for suicides among youth ages 12-17 had been about five per 100,000 for many years, below the base national rate of 13 per 100,000. However, in the year 2017 that rate of completed suicides increased to 27 per 100,000, and for 2018 we are at a pace that will likely equal 2017.

For most people, light physical activity makes up the bulk of their daily physical activity. Yet government guidelines focus almost exclusively on moderate to vigorous-intensity physical activity. The difficulty of measuring a person’s lightintensity physical activity largely explains this disconnect. It is not possible to measure light physical activity with a questionnaire. The amount of light-intensity physical activity a person thinks they have done bears almost no resemblance to what they have actually done. This means it has been difficult to study the effects of light-intensity physical activity on long-term health.

Why talk about productivity? We have a clear business challenge in the UK. Productivity is a major issue for Government and Philip Hammond devoted his first Budget speech as Chancellor of the Exchequer (Minister of Finance) in 2017 to addressing it.1

With multinational businesses looking to take advantage of opportunities in new and developing markets, how is their business expansion affecting international workforces and the benefit packages they receive? Multinationals, especially those headquartered in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America, are continuing to expand as they seek to achieve competitive advantage, diversify and gain access to new talent. As a result, many multinational companies operate in more than 100 countries and often generate over 80% of their revenues from non-domestic markets.

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

Filip Sulmon has been named Head, International Mobility, as of March 2019 according to the Switzerland-based company LafargeHolcim, a global leader in building materials and solutions. Sulmon was previously head of Global Mobility for Infosys Consulting in Zurich, as well as Etihad Airways before joining Infosys. Prior to that he was Expat Tax Manager, Global Mobility Manager, and Tax Compensation Manager (EMEA Region) for United Parcel Service based in

Whirlpool Corporation in March 2019 appointed Samantha (Samie) Moore. Samie will lead the Benefits Center of Excellence, partnering with the regions to develop a global benefits strategy and adapt a culture of health at a local level. Moore comes to Whirlpool which is based in Benton Harbor, Michigan, from Milliman’s health and welfare benefits consulting practice, where she was a senior health and welfare consultant. She has also been

U.S. benefits broker and service provider OneDigital announced in March, 2019, that Mark Juneau has been named Vice President of Global Benefits. Juneau comes to OneDigital from San Francisco, CA-based Alliant Employee Benefits, where he was a senior vice president. Previous to his four years with Alliant, Juneau was with Mercer as a benefits consultant, principal, and ASEAN Retirement Business Leader. Juneau holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in

The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in March 2019 released the ninth edition of Society at a Glance, the biennial OECD overview of social indicators. The full report can be accessed here. This edition of the report addresses the growing demand for quantitative evidence on social well-being and its trends, and focuses on LGBT groups (lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender) and their lack of acceptance in

Kathy Farmer has been promoted to Vice President, Global Benefits, for Levi Strauss & Co., as of March 2019. Ms. Farmer was formerly Senior Director Global Benefits at Levi Strauss for six years. Ms. Farmer joined Levi Strauss & Co. in 2013 after serving as Total Rewards Principal Consultant with The Clorox Company, where she designed and deployed global solutions for the Total Rewards practice with a focus on

Global Benefits Vision announces an update to its highly successful Directory of Global Employee Benefits and Global Mobility Providers. The new edition can be browsed online and downloaded as a PDF. If you would like to be considered for free-of-charge inclusion in the Directory, email olivia@gbvmag.com for your Information Pack and Data Form.

Willis Towers Watson announced in March 2019 that Laurie Paillat has been promoted to Associate Director, based in Paris, France. Ms. Paillat joined WTW after serving as Global Benefits Manager for Criteo, a Paris-based software company. Prior to that, she was an employee benefits expert for EMEAR, Dassault Systèmes, based near Paris. She has also been a pension consultant for PricewaterhouseCoopers in London and Paris, and an actuary and

American International Group (AIG) in April 2019 announced it had sold its entire stake in People Insurance Co. of China (PICC) for HK$3.8 billion (US$482 million). AIG had bought into PICC as a “cornerstone investor” in its initial public offering in December 2012. According to Bloomberg, AIG made a 1.75% profit including dividends over the six years, when Hong Kong’s benchmark Hang Seng Index generated a total return of

According to regulatory filings made in February 2019, Aon has incurred nearly $1 billion in costs related to a restructuring plan announced in May 2017, and will incur about $243 million more in costs when the plan is completed by the end of 2019. Initiated in 2017, Aon’s global restructuring plan has now estimated the number of job losses between 4,800 and 5,400, a 12 percent increase from a

  With the United Kingdom’s departure from the European Union delayed until May 22, 2019, if the Brexit deal is accepted, or April 12, 2019, if rejected, many clients of the insurance industry are unsure of what to do in either case. Lockton in March 2019 released an advisory: Brexit update: What US multinational employers need to know to help its clients and others in the industry during these

Bank of New York Mellon, located in Pune, Maharastra, India, has named Moumita Das as Vice President in charge of Compensation and Benefits as of January 2019. Das comes to BNY Mellon from her previous position as Compensation and Benefits Manager at Novartis in Hyderabad, India, and with American Express India. Das began her career as a network engineer with Accenture in India, and moved on to Human Resources

Steffen Zwick in March 2019 joined Mercer Switzerland as Head of Marketing and Communication. He was before with Mercer as a Marketing Manager as well as Campaign Manager for content marketing and left to take a position as Senior Marketing Associate with Eaton Vance Management International in London. He has since returned to Mercer and is now located in Zurich. Zwick holds an MA in Linguistics from Heidelberg University.

Rebecca Wheeler joined Willis Towers Watson (WTW) as International Benefits Manager as of March 2019. Wheeler previously held the same position with Phillip Morris International, where she had worked since 2012. She was also an International Consultant with Towers Watson from 2008 to 2012. Prior to that, she was a Regional Benefits Analyst and International Benefits Analyst at Microsoft. Wheeler holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration (MBA) from

Lockton in March 2019 named Claude Yoder as partner, along with Guy Carpenter and Nick Durant, of its new company, Lockton Global Re, as of May 2019.  Yoder, an experienced analytics expert, will be based in New York. Yoder joins from Guy Carpenter, where he was Chief Innovation and Product Development Officer, after serving as Global Head of Analytics for Marsh. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in

American International Group (AIG) in March 2019 announced the appointment of Betsy Palmer as Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Strategy, Communications and Industry Leadership Officer, AIG Life & Retirement. She will be based in New York and will report to Kevin Hogan, Chief Executive Officer, Life & Retirement, as a member of the Life & Retirement Executive Team. Ms. Palmer will assume responsibility for all marketing, communications, stakeholder

Insurance Europe in March 2019 published a checklist regarding the insurance implications of a no-deal Brexit. Insurance Europe is the European insurance and reinsurance federation, representing all types of insurance and reinsurance carriers. Intended for the general public but relevant for business travelers and short-term secondments, the checklist deals with: Motor insurance – Currently, motorists insured in any EU member state can drive their vehicle in any other EU member

Artex Risk Solutions, a provider of insurance, reinsurance, and alternative risk management solutions, in March 2019 announced that Peter Mullen has re-joined the company as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He takes over from former CEO David McManus, who will assume the new role of Chairman going forward. Mullen has been CEO at Aon Captive & Insurance Management for the last seven years, and will begin his position with Artex

B3i raised about $16 million in February 2019, bringing its total capital to over $22 million. B3i is a blockchain startup owned by some of the world’s largest insurance companies. Slightly more than half of the new capital came in the form of cash, with the rest coming as converted debt. B3i had previously raised 6.3 million Swiss francs in March 2018. B3i’s founding shareholders include Aegon, Allianz, Munich

HX Global, the Americas division of Healix International, in March 2019 appointed Tim Crockett as senior vice president, U.S. Business Operations. Crockett joined HX Global in 2016 as vice president of security. In that role, he was tasked with designing and providing security and risk management solutions for multinational organizations. Prior to joining HX Global, Crockett worked as senior director of global security operations for media conglomerate Turner. He

Alliant Insurance Services in March 2019 announced it had added Lee Doble as Consultant as of January 2019. He is based in Huntington Beach, California. He comes to Alliant from Crystal and Company, where he spent eighteen years as Managing Director. Prior to that, Doble was Managing Director at Frank Crystal & Co., Inc. for twelve years, and a senior account executive at Aetna for over thirty years. Doble