Aon International Retirement Monthly Newsletter – March 2020

A special announcement for this month's update: Due to far-reaching travel bans and quarantine measures affecting many organisations globally due to fears over the spread of COVID-19, please do make sure you check for any cancellations or postponements of live events you have signed up to. Meanwhile, rest assured that we have a wide range of webinars upcoming on a variety of topics.

From Colin Haines, Partner, International Retirement & Investment

SURVEYS AND THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Rapid Responses to Coronavirus

We have set up a global website to draw together resources to help organisations react to the COVID-19 epidemic, including guidance on employee communications.

Global Pension Risk Survey 2019: all results published

Results and insights from all countries/regions are now available via the global page. Please feel free to contact your regular Aon consultant to discuss survey findings.

UK Benefits & Trends Survey 2020

Aon has published its latest survey on employee benefits, with over 200 participants. Click here to download the report or watch a video on the highlights, covering emerging trends such as financial wellbeing, predictions for future trends using real-world data, and expert analysis.

Focus on APAC

The Singapore Government has recently increased the minimum retirement age from 62 to 65, alongside increases to the CPF contribution rates for older employees. Read more in Aon's article here.

Budget announcements in India will bring in new tax rules for employer pension contributions (including Provident Fund) above INR 750,000 per annum. Click here for details.

Aon has published an article on transferring risk from the Taiwanese mandatory DB retirement scheme under the Labour Standards Law, which applies to employees hired before 1 July 2005. This follows an upsurge in companies looking to reduce their risk as funding requirements have left organisations strapped for cash.

Click here for more information or to contact our APAC retirement team.

Pensions and Cyber Risk

Organizations commonly hold false confidence in the security of retirement plans. Given the amount of data and money at stake, it is imperative to see the whole cyber picture and understand the organization's fiduciary responsibility. Click here for insights from the Cyber Solutions team.

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY

Aon Ireland Pension Conference

This is planned (circumstances permitting) for 7 May 2020 at The Conrad, Dublin. The half day morning conference will address matters relevant to DB & DC sponsors and trustees such as Aon Ireland’s 2020 DC survey, DB risk settlement, Irish pensions legislation updates, the importance of transparency, investment update and how Aon can assist employers from hiring through to retiring. Click here to send an email registering your interest to attend.

Annual German Pensions Conference with Handelsblatt

There is still time to register for this annual conference which will be held (circumstances permitting) at the Pullman Berlin Schweizerhof from 17 to 19 March. Aon Germany's Simon Mayer and Fred Marchlewski will present on financial wellbeing. Click here for details.

Aon UK DC Survey

Please join our webinar at 1pm (London time) on 26 March for the launch of Aon's 2020 DC Pension Survey to discover what our research has uncovered about how DC schemes in the UK measure up across key areas, including strategy, scheme design, contribution levels, investment approaches and member engagement

Netherlands – Dutch Pension Reforms – Webinar

A reminder to join Heleen Vaandrager (CCO, Retirement & Investment Aon Netherlands) for a webinar discussing the upcoming changes to the Dutch pension reforms – including slowing the rate of increase in retirement age, providing early retirement solutions, lump sum options and simplified spouse/partner retirement arrangements.

Two live webinars will run at 4pm (UK time) on 31 March and 9am (UK time) on 1 April. Click here to register.

UK International Contacts – International Hot Topics Seminars

Here in the UK we are holding a range of events over the coming months (circumstances permitting), featuring many retirement leaders from across our Aon network:

Wellbeing Briefing for Multinationals: Manchester, 23 April 4-6pm
Latest trends and developments in Wellbeing, including emotional, physical and financial wellbeing considerations with Janet Heaton and Oliver Walker

Hot Topics Seminar - Netherlands and Switzerland: London, 6 May 3-5.45pm (plus drinks)
Discussion on the latest developments for DB funding, governance, risk transfer/buy-outs, DC plan design and changes to legislation, presented by Aon Netherlands and Switzerland Retirement Leaders

Hot Topics Seminar - France, Italy, Spain and Portugal: London, 7 July 9-12.30pm (plus buffet lunch)
Pre-summer holiday discussion on hot topics, new legislation, social security reforms, executive pensions and other DB/DC retirement design & financing trends in France, Italy and Iberia, presented by local Retirement Leaders

Click here if you'd like any more info on these seminars or to register.

PODCASTS AND WEBINAR RECORDINGS

Don't forget to subscribe to Aon's retirement podcast channel! This month, we focus on the UK DC Survey 2020 with insights over five episodes from Steven Leigh, Tony Pugh and other Aon experts.

German-speaking colleagues may like to watch Aon Germany senior partner Gundula Dietrich facilitate a webinar with Handelsblatt on occupational pensions and financial wellbeing. See also here for Aon insights. (Note: content is in German.)

Hear Aon US experts Melissa Elbert, Bridget Steinhart and Alex Bush who recently provided insights on how employers can address smart design, engagement, and governance. Click here to register interest for the second webinar in the series or here to re-watch the first, covering plan design to optimize employee decisions, financial wellbeing, risk management and leveraging the SECURE Act for plan performance.

As employers continue to address the challenges and opportunities raised by the Loi Pacte reforms in France, you or your colleagues may be interested in a replay of our informative webinar from December 2019.

Let us know if you'd like any more info on these webinars or to contact the speakers.

LOOKING FOR MORE?

Visit the Retirement and Investment Solutions page for more insights.

If you'd like to receive any of our previous newsletters, please contact us.