International Retirement & Investment
Aon's International Retirement & Investment team runs a series of webinars on key local topics around the world. The purpose of the webinars are to help those governing, managing and overseeing retirement plans to understand hot local retirement topics and key changes in local legislation. They are aimed at both Finance and HR employer contacts at international organisations with global, regional or local responsibilities.
This webinar provided an overview of the retirement landscape and its current developments in Belgium.
The global Covid-19 pandemic induced a specific law in Belgium to maintain the benefit coverages during temporary unemployment. Possible actions which employers should consider taking in response to this law were shown.
A second topic concerns the unified status. Employers will be obliged to harmonize benefits between blue and white collars no later than January 1st 2025. Employers cannot rely on the sectors to agree on solutions any longer, not acting now means facings possible cost increases once harmonization becomes reality.
Are retirement plans in danger? The majority of pension plans are based on insurance contracts with a guaranteed return of about 0% while employers are obliged to guarantee a minimum return of currently 1.75%. Alternatives for employers to achieve higher returns were described.
The flexible legal framework makes Belgium the prime location for setting up cross-border pension funds. Centralizing pension schemes across Europe into one single vehicle can be highly cost-effective for companies.
If you are interested in any of the topics covered, please contact us at [email protected] to speak to our retirement experts.
Stay updated