Swiss insurer Baloise in April 2019 said it is acquiring the Belgian insurer Fidea for 480 million euros ($543 million) from China’s state-controlled Anbang Insurance Group to boost its position in the Belgian non-life and life insurance market. The acquisition of Antwerp-based Fidea means that Baloise will employ around 1,600 employees in Belgium. Baloise said the deal will increase its share of the non-life business in Belgium by 1.7

BHP announced the appointment of Mhar Anthony Trabado as Global Mobility Specialist for North and Central America. Trabado comes to BHP from a position as Senior Global Assignment Consultant for SIRVA Worldwide Relocation & Moving, and Regional Mobility Consultant for Crown World Mobility, based in Singapore. He was also an International Assignment Consultant for Cartus, and Global Mobility Consultant, Asia Pacific, CIS, Middle East, for Amec Foster Wheeler. He

Giesecke+Devrient in April 2019 announced the promotion of Tina Lilios to Head, Competence Center Human Resources, and Senior HR Business Partner C-IT. She will be based in Munich, Germany. She was previously a senior HR business partner with the company. Lilios came to Geisecke+Devrient from Sandoz, Holzkirchen, Germany, where she served as HR Business Partner Global Support Functions, and head of HR Tech Ops Finance and Transformation, as well

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

Diverse Approaches to International Employee Benefits – Productivity: a UK Challenge Which Insurers Can Help With – Light Physical Activity Has Health Benefits – Six Questions to Ask to Help Screen For Suicide Risk – How US Policy Is Shifting Toward Nutrition for Better Health – Pancreatic Cancer: Possible Insights into Treatment and Early Detection – Providing Equity Income to Mobile Employees

In the April 2019 issue Diverse Approaches to International Employee Benefits – Andrew Wood Productivity: a UK Challenge Which Insurers Can Help With – Paul Avis Light Physical Activity Has Health Benefits – Richard Metcalfe Six Questions to Ask to Help Screen For Suicide Risk – Andres Pumariega How US Policy Is Shifting Toward Nutrition for Better Health – Dariush Mozaffarian, Jerold Mande, Renata Micha Pancreatic Cancer: Possible Insights

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

Equity income is an important part of the compensation and talent management strategy for many companies. The provision of equity income can assist in attracting new talent as well as in motivating and retaining current employees. It allows companies the ability to directly reward employees for business growth over specified periods of time.

When “Jeopardy!” episode 7059 aired on April 30, 2015, the category was “The Human Body,” the price was $2,000, and the clue was “This gland’s main duct, the duct of Wirsung, collects its juices & empties into the duodenum.” The question was “What is the pancreas?” Unbeknownst to Alex Trebek, the show’s beloved host, the cells that line the duct of his pancreas would develop into pancreatic cancer, or pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma. Trebek announced on March 6, 2019 that he has pancreatic cancer, but that he will fight the disease and keep hosting the show. And in fact, he was back at work March 12.

In 2018, Congress initiated a series of actions that represent a shift away from placing the full responsibility – and blame – on individual people to make their own healthier choices. These actions also show a growing recognition that many stakeholders – including the government – are accountable for a healthier, more equitable food system. This shift in thinking reflects an understanding that government can and should play a role in improving the diet of Americans.

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