International Expatriate Issues

Britain Plans to Scrap Forced Retirement Age in 2011
Excerpt:"Under the government's proposals, the default retirement age would begin to be phased out from April 2011 and come to an end by October next year. Ministers said the move was designed to give people more choice as they enjoyed longer and healthier lives."(The New York Times; free registration required)

Special Report on Employee Relocation
Excerpt:"The recession forced a drastic shift in relocation philosophies in the last two years, as companies struggled to find the right people for a position, move them where they're needed and keep them there in an economically feasible way."(Workforce Management; free registration required)

[Guidance Overview] Secondment, Deferred Compensation, and Subpart F Income: A Potential Trap
Excerpt:"This article points out that while a secondment agreement, that is properly worded and implemented, may act as an effective shield against Code section 457A, it may also inflict a detrimental blow to the US company's subpart F income. Accordingly, any US company that seconds its employees to related foreign-based entities should re-evaluate that arrangement to assure that it is obtaining the desired tax outcome."(Miller&Chevalier Chartered)

Medical Tourism Poised on the Brink for at Least the Last Decade, It's Never Really Taken Off
Excerpt:"In 2007, only 750,000 Americans traveled abroad for medical care, according to a 2008 report by Deloitte's Center for Health Solutions in Washington, D.C. That number is projected to increase to just 1.6 million by 2012."(Employee Benefit News; free registration required)

Overseas Assignments: New Ranking of World Cities Can Help Companies Determine How Much an Expat Assignment Should Pay
Excerpt:"An annual look by Mercer at the quality of life in more than 200 cities quantifies just how disparate living conditions can be from Sydney to Shenzhen [with the ratings being] used primarily by organizations to determine appropriate compensation and support services for expatriates . . . ."(CFO.com)

Observations and Data on Global Pension Risk Strategy
Excerpt:"For a multinational company, there is still a need to fully understand where the liabilities and risks are before managing them effectively."(Mercer)

How Would Pension Accounting Change if the U.S. Decides to Follow the International Accounting Standards Board's Requirements? (PDF)
4 pages. Excerpt:"This Spotlight considers how the general concepts of pension accounting in the U.S. would change if IAS 19, including the proposed amendments in the exposure draft, were to become the standard in the U.S. It is not intended as a summary of the exposure draft, or as a comparison between the current and proposed provisions of IAS 19."(The Segal Group, Inc.)

International Accounting Standards Board Proposes Substantial Changes in Disclosures for Employers Contributing to Multiemployer Plans
Excerpt:"Looking even further down the road, all U.S. employers contributing to multiemployer plans might be interested because it is possible that these changes in international accounting standards foretell future changes in U.S. standards for domestic employers."(The Segal Group, Inc.)

Fewer Companies Are Making Relocation Policy Modifications This Year, According to Survey
Excerpt:"Companies . . . tightened up their policies on who gets relocated, such as by offering benefits to some employees and not others. In offering home-sale benefits, for example, the number of companies with tiered programs -- in which companies make offerings to one set of employees and not another -- jumped from 25 percent in 2009 to 42 percent in 2010."(Human Resource Executive Online)

Multinationals Take Health Strategies Global
Excerpt:"As obesity, work-related stress and chronic disease accelerate among the non-U.S.-based employees of multinationals, the number of multinational companies that are taking a global approach to mitigate these so-called'lifestyle diseases'will double by 2012. Workforce Health Strategies: A Multinational Perspective, a survey conducted by Towers Watson, found that while only about one in four (26%) multinational companies has a global health strategy in place, an equal number plan to implement a global health strategy by 2012."(PLANSPONSOR.com)

[Guidance Overview] New Automated Clearing House Rules Cover Qualified Plans Making International Direct Deposit Payments (PDF)
At page 3 of 5 pages. Excerpt:"Retirement plans will frequently use automated clearing house ('ACH') services to handle plan distributions. The National Automated Clearing House Association ('NACHA') recently implemented new requirements to assist the United States Treasury in enforcing federal regulations that prohibit payments to certain countries and people. These rules apply to any ACH payment (also commonly referred to as'direct deposit'), including retirement plan benefit payments. If your retirement plan pays benefits via ACH transactions, the plan should take action to ensure compliance with the new rules issued by NACHA relating to international transactions.'(Greensfelder, Hemker&Gale, P.C.)

Employers Looking for Ways to Help Relocated Employees with Complicated Arrangements for Elder Care
Excerpt:"Consider, first, that the overall workforce is aging: There were 27 million working adults ages 55 and over in January 2010, compared to 18 million in January 2000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Given that increase, the number of people taking care of an elder parent or in-law in the United States is 34 million, according to the most updated statistics from AARP, an advocacy group for older Americans."(Human Resource Executive Online)

[Guidance Overview] IRS Update of Amount of Excludable or Deductible Foreign Housing Expenses for 2009 and 2010
Excerpt:"The [IRS] has published adjusted limitations on the housing expense tables for purposes of Code Sec. 911(c)(2)(A). The guidance provides adjusted limitations on housing expenses for 2010, includes a table that identifies locations within countries with high housing costs relative to housing costs in the U.S., and provides an adjusted limitation on housing expenses for qualified individuals with housing expenses in one or more high-cost locations in 2008. Outside the high-cost areas, the annual limitation is $27,450."(CCH INCORPORATED)

[Official Guidance] Text of IRS Notice 2010-27: Adjusted Limits for Section 911 Foreign Earned Income and Housing Exclusions (PDF)
Notice 2010-27 provides adjusted limitations on housing expenses for tax year 2010 for purposes of the foreign earned income and housing exclusion, section 911 of the Internal Revenue Code. These increases reflect areas with higher housing costs, relative to housing costs in the United States. Generally, this guidance is issued annually. (Internal Revenue Service)

The IRS 2010 Guidance Plan: A Look at What's Coming
Excerpt:"Each year the IRS issues a list of its top-priority guidance initiatives for the year, called the guidance plan. The long-awaited list of items was issued in late 2009, and sets forth the plan for issuing much-needed guidance for the July 2009?June 2010 year. . . . A look at a number of provisions from the guidance plan that remain to be addressed, based on the type of plan, will give us an idea of what is in store for the coming year."(Groom Law Group)

Smaller Employers Turning to Captives for Health Insurance Funding
Excerpt:"Utilized for decades by larger employers to cover their property/casualty exposures, small and midsize employers are turning to captives to fund a portion of their health care benefit risks. . . . In some cases, small employers, with the help of third-party claims administrators or benefit consultants, are joining forces to set up their own captives or using a cell in an established captive to cover risk above a self-insured retention. In other cases, small- and medium-size employers -- typically defined as firms with between 50 and 500 employees -- are securing coverage in captives owned by TPAs or trade associations to which they belong."(Business Insurance)

[Guidance Overview] Relief and Other Guidance on Reporting Foreign Financial Accounts (FBAR) Issued
Excerpt:"The Proposed Regulations exempt participants and beneficiaries in qualified retirement plans (as well as owners and beneficiaries of IRAs) from the requirement to file an FBAR with respect to a foreign financial account held by or on behalf or the retirement plan (or IRA). The Retirement Plan (or IRA), however, is not exempt with respect to any foreign financial account in which it invests and therefore has a financial interest. . . . Attached to the Proposed Regulations are draft instructions to [the applicable government reporting form, which] specifically include within the governmental exemption from FBAR filing an employee retirement or welfare benefit plan of a governmental entity."(Pillsbury)

[Guidance Overview] Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) Filing Delayed Until June 30, 2011; Some Benefit/Pension Trusts May Need to File; Exceptions Clarified in Proposed Rule
Excerpt:"The Treasury Department's Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) have issued Notice 2010-23 and proposed rules, respectively, which relate to filing requirements for the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (also known as FBAR)."(International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans)

[Guidance Overview] FBAR Update -- FinCEN Releases Proposed Regulations and Requests Comments
Excerpt:"The proposed regulations provide welcome filing relief for governmental plans, retirement plan participants and IRA owners, and for individual employees of registered investment advisors advising registered mutual funds. However, the proposed regulations do not provide any relief for plan investment fiduciaries and fail to provide any guidance relevant to the reporting of plan foreign accounts on fiduciaries'personal income tax returns -- an issue that must be resolved before the April 15, 2010 federal income tax filing deadline."(Groom Law Group)

[Official Guidance] Text of IRS Notice 2010-23: FBAR Reporting of'Commingled Fund'for 2009 or Earlier Years Means Only Mutual Funds (PDF)
Excerpt:"Persons with a financial interest in, or signature authority over, a foreign commingled fund that is a mutual fund are required to file an FBAR unless another filing exception, as provided in the FBAR instructions or other relevant guidance, applies. The IRS will not interpret the term'commingled fund'as applying to funds other than mutual funds with respect to FBARs for calendar year 2009 and prior years. Thus, the IRS has determined that it will not apply its enforcement authority adversely in the case of persons with a financial interest in, or signature authority over, any other foreign commingled fund with respect to that account for calendar year 2009 and earlier calendar years. A financial interest in, or signature authority over, a foreign hedge fund or private equity fund is included in the administrative relief provided in the preceding sentence."(Internal Revenue Service)

[Guidance Overview] Hewitt's Global Retirement Update (February 2010)
3 pages. (Hewitt)

GPS (Guidance, Procedures, Systems): Global Stock Plans book now available
The NCEO has now made available the GPS (Guidance, Procedures, Systems): Global Stock Plans book from the Certified Equity Professional Institute of Santa Clara University. The publication discusses issues and considerations, including grant processes, transactions, and tax and payroll issues, for public companies that grant equity compensation in non-U.S. locations. (National Center for Employee Ownership)

[Guidance Overview] Defined Benefit Plan Administrator Erred in Reducing U.S. Pension Plan's Benefit by Benefit Earned in Foreign Plan
Excerpt:"The U.S. plan formula counted all U.S. and non-U.S. service and provided an offset for benefits earned under any other'qualified defined benefit plan'maintained by the company. The [7th Circuit] court found this term referred only to plans qualified under US tax law, not foreign plans, and suggested the administrator's interpretation was tainted by conflict of interest."(Mercer)

PBGC and UK Pension Bodies Agree to Share
Excerpt:"A new agreement between the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. (PBGC) and the United Kingdom's Pensions Regulator and Pension Protection Fund provides a framework for information sharing across the pond. According to a PBGC announcement, under a Memorandum of Understanding, signed Wednesday, the three agencies'will share any unrestricted information that advances the security of defined benefit plans sponsored by private sector companies.'Confidential financial information from those companies will not be shared.'The agreement is a reflection of the mutual interests of the three agencies and the global reach of corporate entities that sponsor pension plans,'the announcement said."(PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Medical Tourism: Update and Implications (PDF)
16 pages. Excerpt:"Medical tourism is an opportunity for patients to travel for medical care and take advantage of reduced costs and wait times. The industry may be categorized into three groups: Outbound: U.S. patients traveling to other countries for medical care; Inbound: Foreign patients traveling to the U.S. for medical care; Intrabound: U.S. patients traveling domestically for medical care. In the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions'2008 report, . . . we reviewed the medical tourism industry and projected patient flow rates and financial implications over the next 10 years."(Deloitte Development LLC)

IASB Rescinds Discount Rate Proposal for Pensions and Other Retiree Benefits
Excerpt:"IASB has rescinded planned amendments to IAS 19, Employee benefits, that would have required all companies to determine discount rates for valuing pension, retiree health and other post-employment benefits from high-quality corporate bond yields. Companies in countries without deep corporate bond markets currently use government bond yields, resulting in reporting inconsistencies. The board halted the project Oct. 22, after weighing the positives (improved global consistency) against the negatives (subjectively determined discount rates due to lack of country-specific data points)."(Mercer LLC)

Employers Cut Costs for Ex-Pat Programs
Excerpt:"International employers continue sending workers for overseas assignments, but in a less expensive way, according to a new study. A KPMG LLP news release about its latest study about overseas assignments found that among the cost-saving measures taken were short-term assignments (STAs) (79%) and permanent transfers (45%), in place of long-term or standard assignments."(PLANSPONSOR.com; free registration required)

Employee Ownership Update for September 15, 2009
NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen discusses a new wide-scale employee ownership program in Pakistan; another court decision stating that an ESOP trustee cannot be indemnified for breaches of fiduciary duty that involve an ESOP if the indemnification comes out of corporate assets; and a new survey showing a sharp increase in restricted stock plans globally. (National Center for Employee Ownership (NCEO))

The World Economic Forum Partnership with Mercer and the OECD
Excerpt:"This is a two-year partnership to research new ways for employers, governments and providers to improve the productivity and retirement security of the world's workforce in a rapidly ageing and less healthy world. Our research findings and insights can be accessed from this website."(Mercer LLC)

[Guidance Overview] OECD Guidelines Raise the Bar on Pension Fund Governance and Set International Standards
Excerpt:"On 7 Jul 2009, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published updated Guidelines for Pension Fund Governance. The Guidelines set'international standards for the governance of private pension funds, in view of protecting people's pensions from mismanagement and fraud.'The revisions reflect the current focus on corporate governance failures that contributed to the 2008/2009 global financial crisis. This Mercer analysis discusses the Guidelines and their implications for pension fund sponsors and fiduciary committees of multinational organizations."(Mercer LLC)

Insurers Seek Savings by Offering Coverage for Care in Other Countries
Excerpt:"More insurers are offering networks of doctors overseas and in other countries for their policyholders as a way to save money as lawmakers struggle with how to drive down costs, The Associated Press/USA Today reports."(Kaiser Family Foundation)

IRS Advisory Committee Assessed U.S. Tax Issues for Employers Involved in Cross-Border Transactions
Excerpt:"The IRS should work to break down barriers to US employers desiring to provide pensions to nonresident aliens working in the US and to employees transferred outside the US, according to an IRS advisory group. The IRS recently posted the eighth annual Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt and Government Entities (ACT) report, after its recommendations were presented this summer. The ACT developed recommendations suggesting the IRS address international pension issues such as allocation of deductions, taxation of US citizens on accruals in other countries, and treatment of pension distributions."(Mercer LLC)

Special Report on Employee Relocation
Excerpt:"The situation Consolidated Container faces and the actions it is taking mirror what's happening throughout the country as businesses large and small come to grips with the financial effects of the real estate bust and recession. Nationwide, fewer employees are willing to move for a job. Of 179 companies in a 2009 survey by relocation outsourcer Cartus, 79 percent said employees'resistance to moving increased somewhat or a great deal over the past year. For 94 percent of those, worries over selling an existing home were the main reason."(Workforce Management; free registration required)

Medical Tourism Magazine
Medical Tourism Magazine the first and only magazine for the medical tourism, medical travel and health tourism industry. (Medical Tourism Magazine)

[Guidance Overview] Deadline Extended for Some Taxpayers Who Recently Learned of the FBAR Reporting Requirement
Excerpt:"Many taxpayers, such as tax exempt entities, trust funds and nuclear decommissioning funds (special entities), may be unaware of an important mandatory filing requirement that has recently received additional attention: the foreign bank or financial account (FBAR) report. This long-standing filing requires all U.S. persons to annually disclose any financial interest in all foreign financial accounts, including investments in foreign securities and hedge funds. Although the filing was technically due last June, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is permitting certain taxpayers to file without penalty as late as September 23, 2009."(McDermott Will&Emery)

[Guidance Overview] IRC Section 409: Newly Effective Rules Governing Foreign Deferred Compensation Arrangements Present Operational Challenges (PDF)
7 pages. Excerpt:"After a brief refresher on deferred compensation in the post-409A landscape, this article will lay out the general applicability of IRC Section 409A to US taxpayers participating in a foreign deferred compensation plan, as well as the numerous exemptions available under applicable IRS regulations (the Final Regulations). Finally, we will offer a few ideas to assist multinational companies in determining which, if any, of their plans might be considered'nonqualified deferred compensation'within the meaning of IRC Section 409A, and how to coordinate efforts between local benefits delivery staff and service providers to avoid running afoul of IRC Section 409A."(Aspen Publishers via K&L Gates LLP)

Pillsbury Law Firm Requests IRS Clarification of Foreign Investment Reporting Rules for Pension Plans (PDF)
3 pages. Excerpt:"In order to diversify their investments, many U.S. qualified retirement plans invest a portion of their trust assets in foreign investment funds. In past years, it has generally been assumed that these investments are not reportable on [the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts, or'FBAR'], as long as the plan has a minority interest in the fund. In October 2008, however, the IRS added language to the FBAR instructions stating that'financial accounts'reportable on FBAR include mutual funds. We understand that certain IRS officials are taking the position that the term'mutual funds,'for this purpose, includes offshore hedge funds and private equity funds. We believe that this reading is overly broad."(Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP)

Employee Ownership Update for July 14, 2009
NCEO Executive Director Corey Rosen discusses how India and Australia are lowering barriers to employee ownership; data showing a 27% drop in the median sale price of closely held businesses in 2008; a warning against paying a percentage of the transaction as a fee to set up an ESOP; and an Ownership Thinking meeting in September. (National Center for Employee Ownership)

[Opinion] Pension Provisions of the US Model Tax Treaty: Comments by Groom Law Group
Excerpt:"The comments include the possible elimination of the clause applying the'lesser of'the benefit limits of the two countries for certain corresponding pension plans as unnecessary and difficult to administer, a broader provision for nondiscrimination in the taxation of pension investments in a manner similar to the European Commission, extending the third-state pension provision found in the US-Belgium tax treaty to other tax treaties, and granting greater portability of pensions between corresponding plans of different treaty countries."(Groom Law Group)

The Economic Crisis Has Accelerated the Decline of Defined Benefit Plans in the U.S. and U.K.
Excerpt:"U.K. policymakers spent some six years investigating second-pillar (employment-related pensions) plans around the world to develop a new U.K. second-pillar institution: the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority. Under the U.K. Pensions Act of 2008, employers will be required to enroll eligible employees into a high-quality workplace pension. . . . U.S. policymakers have not matched U.K. policymakers'initiative; they appear stuck in a DB mindset. Indeed, Congress seems more interested in saving the DB institution for those who have DB benefits than embarking on reforms to create a new second-pillar institution for all, which would minimize the burden on the firm while ensuring retirement security for individuals."(Oxford Analytica via Forbes.com)

Pension Provision: Government Failure Around the World
Excerpt:"This monograph surveys the results of government intervention in the market for retirement income provision throughout the world. The authors begin by looking at high-income democracies in which governments have, to a large degree, taken over the function of providing pensions. They find that state provision crowds out private provision and places a considerable fiscal burden on developed country governments."(Social Science Research Network)

International Pension Issues in a Global Economy: A Survey and Assessment of IRS'Role in Breaking Down the Barriers (PDF)
Excerpt:"The focus of the Employee Plans subcommittee of the ACT for the year 2008-2009 was to survey and assess the most important federal tax issues affecting retirement plans of employers involved in cross-border transactions and the Internal Revenue Service ('IRS') Employee Plans Division's role in addressing those issues and providing education and outreach. . . . It is the ACT's hope that this report will spur the IRS to begin to address these international pension issues as'one'IRS, while keeping in mind the goal...'... to break down the barriers and impediments to U.S. employers desiring to provide pensions to nonresident aliens working in the United States and to U.S. citizens and resident aliens transferred to affiliates of U.S. employers outside the United States.'"(IRS Advisory Committee on Tax Exempt And Government Entities via American Benefits Council)

The Rise and Risks of Medical Tourism
Excerpt:"In response to this market demand, insurance agencies and provider companies have begun covering the outsourcing of medical treatment in out-of-country facilities, and it is an expanding business. This year, the nation's second-biggest health insurer, Indianapolis-based WellPoint, included an outsourcing benefit for employees of Wisconsin-based Serigraph Inc. The target country for care is India, and employees will have the option of receiving certain nonemergency care there. Serigraph will waive the deductibles and coinsurance, as well as pay all medical costs and travel for the patient and a companion."(Milliman)

GE Plans to Invest $6B to Lower Health Care Costs in Underserved Regions
Excerpt:"The broad program sets goals of reducing health care costs by 15 percent through $3 billion of spending on new, lower cost medical technology. The initiative also plans to broaden the use of tools such as electronic medical records and other medical information technology, with the hope of providing more advanced care to 100 million additional people each year. That will include $2 billion of financing for rural health care systems in the United States to adopt medical IT systems. It will also expand clinics in Cambodia and provide additional funding for maternal health care programs in Bangladesh."(AP via The New York Times; free registration required)

The Rise and Risks of Medical Tourism
Excerpt:"Particularly in light of the seriousness of some surgeries and procedures being sought abroad, the term'medical tourism'seems a misnomer. A better term is'cross-border care,'because it encompasses both the phenomena of traveling to an out-of-country destination to receive medical treatment as well as traveling to in-country locations for specialized care. This, too, is a growing trend. A recent study found that 88% of respondents would consider going out of their community or local areas to get care or treatment for a condition if they knew the outcomes were better and the costs were no higher there."(Milliman)

Company Leverages HRAs to Help Employers and Their Workers Split the Savings from Medical Tourism
Excerpt:"A startup company is banking on its small network of elite overseas hospitals plus a unique employer health reimbursement arrangement (HRA)-linked health benefit to carve a niche for itself in the outbound medical tourism business. Satori World Medical, based in San Diego, recently launched its Health&Shared Wealth program, a patent-pending approach that enables employers to offer a 100% overseas medical travel benefit to their employees. Leveraging the significant savings Satori says it is offering for a range of traditional medical procedures performed at its network hospitals, employers can share with their employees a fixed dollar amount or a percentage of the savings realized by using the benefit. The predetermined savings amount is deposited in the employee's HRA account. The employer can then're-invest'what it calculates to be the rest of the savings."(AISHealth.com)

Americans Looking Overseas for Less-Expensive Medical Care
Excerpt:"[The Joint Commission International], which calls itself the'Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval,'has accredited more than 170 hospitals outside of the United States. An estimated 6 million Americans are traveling each year to such countries as India, Costa Rica, Mexico and Thailand in search of less-expensive treatments for simple and complex procedures. Even France and Belgium tend to be cheaper than the United States."(ScoutNews, LLC via BusinessWeek)

Fixing Expat Retirement Benefits
Excerpt:"Oftentimes, assignees'retirement plans are frozen while they are on assignment, and upon return, the retirement plans would pick up where they left off. During the assignment period, the assignees (1) may be able to participate in the host country plans, (2) they may lose all opportunities to earn retirement benefits, or (3) they may defer income while on assignment. It is often the older, experienced workforce that companies are trying to send on assignment -- a workforce population that is obviously more concerned with their retirement."(Human Resource Executive Online)

[Guidance Overview] Stock Awards to Employees in Europe: Changes to Securities Laws
Excerpt:"The European Commission has recognised that the requirement to be listed on an EEA regulated market can lead to unnecessary burdens and costs for companies and in January 2009 it launched a consultation paper proposing, amongst other things, to extend the'employee share scheme'exemption to all companies making offers under employee share plans to employees resident in the EEA as long as a document is made available containing information on the number and nature of the securities offered and the reasons for and details of the offer."(K&L Gates LLP)

Going Abroad to Find Affordable Health Care
Excerpt:"At least 85,000 Americans choose to travel abroad for medical procedures each year, according to a recent report by the consulting firm McKinsey&Company. Treatment includes dental implants, hip and knee replacements, heart valve replacements and bypass surgery. The cost of surgery performed overseas can be as little as 20 percent of the price of the same procedure in the United States, according to a recent report by the American Medical Association."(The New York Times; free registration required)

Economic Restructuring and Retirement in Urban China
Excerpt:"In its gradual approach to economic transition, China deferred the difficult process of restructuring state owned enterprises (SOEs) until the mid-1990s. When restructuring of large scale SOEs accelerated after 1997, China witnessed sharp declines in the employment of urban residents. While some dislocated state sector workers made a transition to work in the non-state sector, large shares of laid off workers spent long periods unemployed or out of the labor force. Much of the transition out of the state sector occurred through early retirement and exit from the labor force of older workers."(Center for Retirement Research at Boston College)

Defined Contribution Global Plan Management
Excerpt:"There is no question that defined contribution (DC) plans continue to grow in popularity around the world. Employers find them attractive for their funding flexibility and risk-shifting qualities. Some consider DC plans to be simpler than defined benefit plans, and while this may be true at a conceptual level, it is untrue at the governance and implementation levels. As DC systems proliferate and mature globally, they grow in complexity. Each local DC market has its own unique supplier community and market practices. For a multinational employer, the result is too often a'stack'of inconsistent, overly complex local DC systems with little or no oversight."(Mercer LLC)

[Guidance Overview] Top 10 Things You Need to Know for Option Exchanges Involving International Employees (PDF)
5 pages. Excerpt:"Underwater options are a common occurrence in today's stock market. As a result, many companies are considering offering an option exchange program, however, most companies focus on the U.S. considerations and neglect to consider how this may affect their non-U.S. employees. This article discusses the top 10 issues that should be carefully considered before making a global exchange offer."(Baler&McKenzie)

[Guidance Overview] International Pension Plans: Selecting a Provider
Excerpt:"In this article, we consider the main issues surrounding the selection of an appropriate [international pension plan (IPP)] provider. This is based on our experience of working with multinational companies in this area and the regular surveys and research we conduct on IPP products and the provider market. Approximately one-third of participants in our recent survey operate an IPP. We have outlined below the main reasons why an IPP can be the most practical approach and, in some cases, the only solution for companies that want to provide retirement benefits to expatriates."(Mercer LLC)

Expats Hearing Call from Their Companies to Come Home
Excerpt:"American firms are speeding up cost-cutting efforts, pulling assignees back early, reducing overall overseas assignments, restructuring compensation packages and using more non-U.S. or in-country managers."(Workforce Management; free registration required)

The Effects of Changing the Pension System Late in the Game
Excerpt:"This paper assesses the impact of a dramatic reform of the Dutch pension system on mental health, savings behavior and retirement expectations of workers nearing retirement age. The reform means that public sector workers born on January 1, 1950 or later face a substantial reduction in their pension rights while workers born before this threshold date may still retire under the old, more generous rules."(Institute for the Study of Labor via Social Science Research Network)

International Update, February 2009
Excerpt:"This monthly publication covers recent developments in foreign private and public pensions, social security, and retirement."(U.S. Social Security Administration)

Medical Tourism Closer to Home
Excerpt:"With the current economic downturn, more employers are considering the cost benefits of medical tourism, experts say. And it's not just international travel anymore. Some patients are traveling to under-used medical facilities in the United States for lower-cost procedures."(Human Resource Executive Online)

Welfare and Generational Equity in Sustainable Unfunded Pension Systems
Excerpt:"We evaluate several actual and hypothetical sustainable PAYGO pension structures, including: (1) versions of the US Social Security system with annual adjustments of taxes or benefits to maintain fiscal balance; (2) Sweden's Notional Defined Contribution system and several variants developed to improve fiscal stability; and (3) the German system, which also includes annual adjustments to maintain fiscal balance. For each system, we present descriptive measures of uncertainty in representative outcomes for a typical generation and across generations. We then estimate expected utility for generations based on simplifying assumptions and incorporate these expected utility calculations in an overall social welfare measure. Using a horizontal equity index, we also compare the different systems'performance in terms of how neighboring generations are treated."(National Bureau of Economic Research; paid subscription or individual purchase required to retrieve fulltext)

[Opinion] Globalization Is No Longer an Uncertain Trend in the Distant Future: U.S. Providers Compete in a Marketplace That Is Broader Than Ever Before
Excerpt:"By any name, the globalization of the healthcare industry is a certainty. Joint Commission International had 178 accredited hospitals listed on its Web site last month, and the organization anticipates a 34% jump in the number of JCI-accredited facilities by the end of 2009. Less certain, however, is the real impact that these international facilities will have on the U.S. healthcare system. Some predict that soon millions of Americans will head to other countries for cheap access to elective surgeries. Others say the so-called medical travel trend has little appeal and, therefore, limited influence."(Rick Johnson, for HealthLeaders Magazine)