International Pension Plans (‘IPPs’) provide a centralised pension arrangement for employers with internationally dispersed or mobile workforces. They therefore enable employers to provide a pension benefit to employees located in places where there is no access to pensions or where the local option may be unsuitable or unavailable to expatriate or non-local employees.
Here we share a case study of a well-known multinational employer who we supported in the establishment of an IPP, domiciled in the Isle of Man.
About the client
- Global financial services business with circa 1,300 employees
- Wide spread of employees internationally; some locations with very low headcounts
- Some employees based in countries with limited or no pension options, where local investments considered unsecure and high risk
- Desire to harmonise benefits globally as much as possible
Why did they choose Boal & Co?
- Recognised leader by way of expertise and capability in the IPP market for trustee and registered schemes administrator services internationally
- Long-established (incorporated in 1995, providing international pensions and services since 1997)
- Knowledgeable, capable team with a track record of service delivery
- Large, long standing international client base
- Access (through partners) to ‘best of breed’ international investments in all major currencies
- Headquartered in the Isle of Man:
- the international finance centre (‘IFC’) with the longest running specific legislation for IPPs (Retirement Benefits Schemes Act 2000)
- highly regarded for its quality regulatory and governance frameworks and strong financial service reputation
- tax neutral and listed on OECD whitelist
- enables FATCA and CRS reporting exemptions for qualifying IPPs
The benefits of a trust-based solution
- Portability of the pension, enabling employees to remain in a single plan while moving to various locations with the sponsoring employer
- Protection of member benefits due to segregation of member assets from those of the sponsoring employer
- Ease of Automatic Exchange of Information (‘AEOI’) reporting and compliance
- Investment and administration oversight risk undertaken by the Trustee rather than the sponsoring employer
- Breadth of country coverage is vastly increased over non trust based solutions making it easier to roll out to new locations
IPPs provide a flexible, convenient, secure and highly regulated solution for hundreds of corporations and thousands of mobile employees globally.
To learn how Boal & Co can support you to provide a pension to your globally mobile workforce, contact Karen Kelly.
Karen Kelly
Group General Manager
