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Special Section on Global Benefits Management
Developing Expatriate Remuneration Packages 
by Gary Parker and Erwin S. Janush
In today's global economy, providing equitable remuneration for expatriates is a challenge for many employers. Viewing the package as a whole, rather than the sum of its parts, often facilitates a more effective design. Companies that have successfully designed packages for expatriates have developed plans that satisfy their own financial requirements while still remaining flexible enough to adapt to individual needs and changes in the global environment.
The Bush Social Security Reform in Action--Pension Reform in Sweden and American Opportunities
by Ann-Kathrin Halvorsen, CEBS
The switch from a defined benefit to a defined contribution approach to providing retirement income is a worldwide trend. One of the latest countries to follow this pattern is Sweden, where the recent national pension system changes are similar to Social Security reform proposed by President Bush and offer a basis for comparison. The changes in Sweden may also offer opportunities for American pension and investment professionals.
General Articles
Employee Benefits Annual Checkup
by Mark E. Brossman and Jesse Taran
An annual checkup is a prudent preventive measure for employee benefit plans. It allows plan fiduciaries to assess the overall "health" of the plans they administer and to make proactive corrections. This article lists some of the most important items to consider in evaluating a plan.
Successfully Integrating Your Health and Welfare Benefits
by Ron Cornwell
The process of integrating health and welfare plans during an M&A is challenging. At the same time, it can be exciting and possibly even desirable for the growth of a benefits plan. An M&A can be the vehicle for ushering in changes that would not be possible under the current employers' plans. It gives additional leverage with vendors. It may supply the momentum to clear up nagging problems or to address underlying benefits concerns.
Protecting the Subrogation Rights of Self-Insured Group Health Plans
by Andrew Irving and Kyle Flaherty
As a means of controlling costs, self-insured group health plans often contain subrogation provisions that give the plan a right to recoup benefits paid to a plan participant or beneficiary who recovers damages from a third party. Such subrogation claims are frequently contested, so it is important that a plan's subrogation provisions are properly drafted.
TIPS (Treasury Inflation Protection Securities)
by Michael J. Collins and Robert Tipp
Inflation-linked bonds are relatively new in the United States and, as such, have not yet evolved into a fully developed, widely used asset class. Nonetheless, they appear to behave as one would expect‹They provide a real return plus compensation for inflation. From a commonsense standpoint, inflation-protected securities should be desirable for pension funds, since they attempt to protect pensioners' purchasing power by earning competitive real returns over the long haul.
Small Employer Pension Plans
by John G. Kilgour
ERISA added to the cost and complexity of employer sponsorship of traditional defined benefit pension plans. The result was a massive shift to defined contribution arrangements, especially 401(k) plans. In spite of government encouragement, millions of small employers in the United States have declined to sponsor pension plans. This is thought to be because of the complexities of ERISA, and Congress has responded with special programs for small employers that simplify administration in exchange for a minimum employer matching contribution.
Fiduciary Liability Insurance: A Multiemployer and Trustee Buyer's Guide
by Charles Valerio and Robert Eder
The liabilities faced by fiduciaries involved in multiemployer plans and trusts are complex and require a special type of fiduciary liability insurance policy. This article examines the available multiemployer fiduciary liability policy forms of six leading U.S. insurers that offer multiemployer fiduciary liability insurance.