Jump to content

Does Anyone Know of Comprehensive Reference Material or Seminars on International Benefits?


Recommended Posts

I have been advised that I am to become the point person on international benefits. The problem is that while I know a little about the topic, I do not feel comfortable becoming "the expert" overnight. Can anyone tell me the name of a comprehensive reference work or a seminar I can attend so I can become substantially more knowledgeable about this area? H-E-L-P!!!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you mean benefits for employees of US companies who are assigned to locations in other countries and who are US nationals, or do you mean benefits for employees of US companies operating in other countries and who are not US nationals, or do you mean to find out what benefits are in common useage in other countries?

George D. Burns

Cost Reduction Strategies

Burns and Associates, Inc

www.costreductionstrategies.com(under construction)

www.employeebenefitsstrategies.com(under construction)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do you mean benefits for employees of US companies who are assigned to locations in other countries and who are US nationals, or do you mean benefits for employees of US companies operating in other countries and who are not US nationals, or do you mean to find out what benefits are in common useage in other countries?

I mean both benefits for employees of US companies who are assigned to locations in other countries and who are US nationals as well as benefits for high-level employees of subsidiaries of US companies operating in other countries who are not US nationals but who could be nationals of still another country whether or not the US company has a subsidiary operating in the country in which the high-level employee is a national.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have never heard of anything and I doubt that there is anything.

The benefits allowed and the service providers are too country specific.

Some service providers in some countries will accept payment from US insurers but that is only possible if their government allows that. Some service providers and even some services that are standard in some countries are not accepted by US insurers etc.

You might consider giving a call to the Benefits Dept at a company like IBM or 3M and ask them for some assistance. You might be able to put together what you need to know from a collection of what they have had to develop for their employees. They and others including NCR, GE, Microsoft etc have exactly the scenario that you describe.

George D. Burns

Cost Reduction Strategies

Burns and Associates, Inc

www.costreductionstrategies.com(under construction)

www.employeebenefitsstrategies.com(under construction)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I doubt whether IBM or any corporation will provide any answers to a cold call. One good reference work is BNA Tax Management Portfolio #320 on international benefits which will usually be found in any good tax law library.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Why doubt it? People can be very helpful if asked politely.

Many of the people in Global Benefits present at seminars and Forums and are quite accustomed to being asked for advice and help.

Over the years I have made many such cold calls and have received extensive information including having them mail me their employee handbook and giving me trial subscriptions to publications etc that were unknown to me then. In fact that is how I was introduced to the BNA Payroll Administration Guide and many other things.

320 only deals with Pensions and Retirement, so that still leaves a lot of the benefits areas not covered.

George D. Burns

Cost Reduction Strategies

Burns and Associates, Inc

www.costreductionstrategies.com(under construction)

www.employeebenefitsstrategies.com(under construction)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest nherkowitz
I have been advised that I am to become the point person on international benefits. The problem is that while I know a little about the topic, I do not feel comfortable becoming "the expert" overnight. Can anyone tell me the name of a comprehensive reference work or a seminar I can attend so I can become substantially more knowledgeable about this area? H-E-L-P!!!!!!!
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest nherkowitz

The International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans has a week long seminar in Chicago each year on International Benefit Plans. The seminar is usually in February. You should check their website for information, www.ifebp.org

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately the "International" is usually limited to Canada. But look and see.

George D. Burns

Cost Reduction Strategies

Burns and Associates, Inc

www.costreductionstrategies.com(under construction)

www.employeebenefitsstrategies.com(under construction)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Unfortunately the "International" is usually limited to Canada. But look and see.

I have researched the webite of the IFEBP and found that there is a certificate program in Global Benefits Management which is being held this year in Chicago from May 1 - 5, 2006. I printed out the program brochure and it states that it covers different regions of the world on different days. Therefore, it does not appear to be limited to Canada.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I see it. I stand corrected.

But will that cover what you need? For example, they devote about 4 hours to pensions in the EU, which would not give time for much useable detail as to what is actually available and permitted in Germany and/or the UK in particular. Think how much time and detail you would need to learn enough about Pensions in the US if the session was instead devoted to North America.

Health and other benefits have the same deficiency.

Will this be adequate for a "point person"? Will the countries that you need to know about be covered in sufficient detail?

It is nice that they cover Asia even if only barely. They cover India but things are different just south in Sri Lanka. What about Singapore, Indonesia and Malaysia. PRC (China) but not Hong Kong, Taiwan etc.

What they cover for China, India and Japan might have no applicability in the countries that you might need.

George D. Burns

Cost Reduction Strategies

Burns and Associates, Inc

www.costreductionstrategies.com(under construction)

www.employeebenefitsstrategies.com(under construction)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...
Guest dazdarren

A couple of good resources I've found in my International Benefits experiece are:

Both Mercer and Watson Wyatt produces a good Benefits Report Book for Europe which has a very detailed overview of both social security benefits and company sponsored benefits in different countries.

Many of the larger insurance companies produce country reports or profiles which provide an overview of the social security programs and typical company sponsored benefits. You can usually get these for free from the insurers if you have a relationship with them.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...