Employee benefits (pensions, life/disability, medical and more) are key to attracting and retaining talent in a competitive market
International Pensions and Benefits
In the global war for talent, cash compensation isn’t the only thing on potential recruits’ minds
Increasingly, employers across all sectors are finding that their employee benefits (pensions, life/disability, medical and more) are key to attracting and retaining talent in a competitive market.
HR professionals are facing growing demands as they strive to stay current with legal changes while also ensuring that their pension and benefits packages stand out in attracting top talent
Tomm Adams
Partner
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From Fragmented to Unified: A Better Global Benefits & Tax Strategy
For organisations expanding into international markets there are considerable implications for both the business as well as its workforce. Additionally, working from anywhere has become a key factor in the race to attract and retain quality talent.
However, with increasing geographical spread, a number of complex people-related risks can start to emerge around payroll, social security, pensions and corporate tax as well as employee benefits, wellbeing and duty of care.
Tomm Adams and Penny Pemberton, Head of International Benefits at Engage Health Group, discuss the importance of having a global tax and benefits strategy and explore what steps employers can put in place, both centrally and locally, to ensure they are meeting the necessary compliance obligations. They ask:-
What are the specific challenges faced by multinationals organisations expanding into new markets?
How can companies manage the administration around employees’ benefits and taxes to avoid compliance failures and additional costs?
How do organisations tackle cultural variations and regulatory policies across multiple jurisdictions?
What benefits do you think are particularly valued these days and how can a business implement a benefits framework to suit every category of their global workforce from remote workers, commuters and nomads to expats and local nationals?
Current market practices
Given the increasing recognition that employers are now giving wellbeing, many global organisations are aligning their benefits programmes to a number of pillars that support all areas of an employee’swellbeing.
A typical approach might include the following pillars:
- Pensions and long-term savings plans
- Financial education and access to individual financial advisers
- Season ticket loans, retail partnerships and discounts
- Private health plans or medical subsidies
- Health screenings
- Subsidised gym membership
- Employee Assistance Programmes and counselling resources
- Access to mental health apps
- Resourcing Mental Health First Aiders
- Flexible working practices, including remote working and flexible annual leave
- Childcare provision and enhanced family leave
- Learning and Development programmes
- Green initiatives such as subsidised public transport
We can support you throughout the following stages:
1. Early stages
Understanding local requirements across your international footprint
Pension and benefits plan design and implementation
Use of flexible benefits and salary sacrifice by local market
Interaction between social security and employer-sponsored benefits
2. Formalising a strategy
Retirement and benefits as part of the Employee Value Proposition
Approach to globally mobile employees (including remote worker risks)
Employee communications and experience
Diversity, equity and inclusion in employee benefits
3. Improving central oversight
Governance best practices
Regular benefits benchmarking
Vendor management
International Pension Plans
4. Futureproofing and responding to change
Financial wellbeing and retirement adequacy
Response to legislative developments across your region
Mergers, acquisitions and other corporate transactions
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How we can help
If you have any questions about the above or would like to discuss your specific circumstance, please get in touch with your usual Blick Rothenberg contact or Tomm Adams using the form below.
Contact Tomm
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