Case Study: International Pension Plan - Implementing a global pension benefit blueprint

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 Paul Colley.