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In his first all-Conservative budget, the U.K.’s Chancellor of the Exchequer announced that from April 6, 2017, applicants for Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) who are assessed as unfit for work but capable of work-related activity will receive a lower level of State Benefit, equivalent to Job Seekers Allowance. This means that the annualized value of benefits will fall from £5,312 to £3,801.

G.I.P. and U.K. State Protection  Paul Avis Being W.O.R.L.D Wise: Decision-making (5) Natalie Richter Sleep Deprivation Costs the Economy Dear and Reduces Longevity David Spencer A Health System Revolution to Cope with Ageing Patients Onil Bhattacharyya Bill Gates on HIV/AIDS in Africa and the Role of Philanthropy Unwinding Obamacare Miranda Yaver

The British economy loses £40 billion a year due to sleep deprivation, per a new study¹ . Beyond the loss of economic output, sleep-deprived Britons are shortening their lives. The study shows that people who sleep less than six hours a night have a 13% higher mortality rate than those sleeping at least seven hours.

All over the world, people are living longer. A large part of this is due to improved treatment for illness; we can see this in the reduction in death rates from cardiovascular disease and the 32% reduction in mortality from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease worldwide in the past 20 years.

Mike Tyler has in November 2016 been appointed Head of Lockton International Benefits and will also become Chair of the Global Benefits Leadership Group, which oversees the expansion of benefits capabilities around the globe. Tyler’s appointment does not change Lockton’s corporate structures, and senior reporting lines also remain unchanged. The new role will facilitate global co-ordination of initiatives and oversee new investments. Lockton’s benefits practice represents 30% of its

As we mentioned in the last article, innovation is the key to success in this fast-moving global market, and companies need to create cultures that allow people to bring their best brains to the table. Whether it is coming up with new ideas or dealing with day-to-day problems in new ways, interpersonal interactions play a very important role in creating innovative and successful global company cultures.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly vowed to “repeal and replace Obamacare.” A logical question is: With what? The announcement of member of the U.S. House of Representatives Tom Price (Republican-Georgia) as Trump’s nominee for secretary of health and human services provides some answers.

Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Bill Gates is the founder and co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. It has committed more than US$3 billion in HIV grants to organizations around the world and more than US$1.6 billion to the Global Fund to fight AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Gates answers questions from several African academics about HIV/AIDS on the continent.

Stevan Bernard, an expert in global security management, and Executive Vice President at global media and entertainment company, in November 2016 has been appointed as non-executive director at Healix International and its U.S. subsidiary, HX Global. Bernard comes to Healix, a leading provider of international medical, security and travel assistance services, with over 30 years’ experience in the security industry, including a career in the U.S. Army and law

Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., an international insurance brokerage and risk management services firm headquartered in Itasca, Illinois, in November 2016 announced the acquisition of Argentis, a financial planning and employee benefits firm based in London, England. Founded in 2005, Argentis is a financial planning and employee benefits consultant, specializing in corporate employee benefits consulting and individual wealth management services to private and corporate clients throughout the United Kingdom. Their

The U.K.’s High Court in November 2016 ruled that the British government could not trigger Article 50 of the E.U. Treaty, thereby setting off Brexit negotiations, without having Parliament voting on the matter first. The government has appealed the decision and the appeal will be heard in the U.K. Supreme Court in early December. The court stated it would deliver its judgment, which is final, “probably in the New

The International Employee Benefits Association (IEBA) organizes its 17th annual conference on March 1 and 2, 2017, in Brussels, Belgium. Attendance is limited to two paying delegates from each provider (insurance company, consultant, broker, etc) and not limited for corporate delegates. If past experience is any indication, this policy should again result in a quite remarkable 50/50 balance between providers and corporates. Registration will open in late 2017. Global

The 2017 edition of the World Captive Forum will take place from January 29 to 31, 2017, in Boca Raton, Florida. The two-day main program includes several sessions on employee benefits captives, including “Adding Benefits to Your Property/Casualty Captive”, “Medical Stop-Loss: Single-Parent and Group Captive Solutions”, “Medical Stop-Loss: Single-Parent and Group Captive Solutions”, “Benefits Data: Its Role in Rating and Reserving”, “Legal and Regulatory Update for Benefits Captive Programs”

The European Commission in October 2016 conducted hearings with pension funds, asset managers, insurance undertakings, individuals, consumer associations, and public authorities  to debate the need for a pan-European pension product. The panel debates allowed stakeholders to determine if EU action fostering the emergence of European personal pension products is appropriate as well as proportionate. At stake are simple, affordable, and transparent pension plans that provide better returns. More investment

AIG Global Benefits Network announced that AlfaStrakhovanie Group has joined its network of 42 insurers. AlfaStrakhovanie offers medical, life, accident and disability coverage in Russia, where all but medical can be pooled. Alfa-Health Center Clinics, a project of AlfaStrakhovanie Group, provides high quality medical services to customers in 12 regions of Russia. One of the largest Russian insurance companies with a full range of services for corporate and private

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The Association of British Insurers (ABI) published an analysis of how EU legislation impacts on the U.K. insurance and long term savings industry after BREXIT. The analysis, titled EU Exit: EU Legislation Mapping Exercise, identifies legislation that ranges from key consumer protections, such as the European Health Insurance Card and Data Protection regulations, to EU-wide prudential regulations like Solvency II. The mapping exercise identified 80 “relevant” pieces of EU

Hub International Limited (HUB), a global insurance brokerage, in October 2016 announced the appointment of Tina Osen as President of HUB Canada, reporting to Marc Cohen, recently appointed President of HUB International. Osen is to drive “organic growth and continued expansion through mergers and acquisitions” in Canada. Currently President of HUB TOS in British Columbia, Canada, Osen replaces newly appointed Executive Vice President of HUB International Larry Lineker. She

To read Global Benefits Vision’s latest news, you can either take the initiative and go to the website’s homepage, or you can elect to have all news sent to you every day without further action on your part. Should you choose the latter, consider making use of our new RSS facility. Your RSS reader will come and fetch the latest news from the GBV website automatically and anonymously—and it

Hub International Limited (HUB), a global insurance brokerage, in October 2016 announced the appointment of Chad Robertson as Executive Vice President of International Business and Growth Initiatives, reporting to Marc Cohen, recently appointed President of HUB International. Robertson’s objective is to build a broader spectrum of offerings for HUB clients throughout North America and coordinate Hub’s relationships and business at Lloyds. Currently Regional President, Canada West, Robertson is a

Olivier Goiot in March 2016 joined Swiss Life International’s Corporate Clients unit as Head of Operations, reporting to CEO Theo Iaponas. Goiot joins from Farad Global Services, a private life insurance broker, where he was CFO; previously, he was Zurich Eurolife’s CFO and COO after positions at Zurich Insurance, Credit Agricole Asset Management and PwC. A graduate of EDHEC business school, he speak Spanish and English in addition to

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The 8th edition of the annual AEIP Venice Conference will focus on innovative approaches in delivering pensions and healthcare and will bring together representatives of the main actors driving forward the evolution of pensions and healthcare systems in Europe. The conference program focuses on the latest developments in these sectors and on their social impact. AEIP, the European Association of Paritarian Institutions, was founded in 1996 and is a

Hub International Limited (HUB), a global insurance brokerage, in September 2016 announced the appointment of Marc Cohen as President of HUB International, replacing Richard (Rick) Gulliver who becomes Vice Chairman. Both will report to Chairman and CEO Martin P. Hughes. Cohen, currently Regional President of HUB East Region, will be responsible for driving continued growth and productivity improvements across the firm and Gulliver will continue to lead HUB’s external

General Electric (GE) in September 2016 has had its European pension fund approved by FSMA, Belgium’s financial supervisory authority and the regulatory body for pension funds. GE is encouraging its existing European-based pension plans to join the fund, which takes the legal form of an Organisme de Financement de Pensions (OFP), Belgium’s IORP-compliant vehicle for pensions provisions. At this early stage, a management committee has been appointed. An IORP

Auto manufacturer BMW in September 2016 decided to end both of its UK final salary-defined benefit (DB) pension plans. Both plans will cease future accrual as of June 2017, affecting around 5,000 members total. Citing significant pension fund shortfalls and the cost risks associated with DB plans, BMW explained that their plans are increasingly unsustainable and unaffordable for both the company and the pension plans members. Unite, the union