Compensation for executives at large and midsize U.S. companies is expected to rebound modestly this year following two consecutive years of pay declines, according to a new survey by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company. Additionally, most companies are planning to fine-tune their executive pay programs to further tighten the link between pay and performance as well as address a growing concern over executive retention.
Global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) has named Brian O’Neill and Scott Emanuele as senior vice presidents in its reinsurance brokerage business, the world’s fourth largest.
U.S. workers saw the value of their employer-sponsored retirement benefits — as measured by percentage of pay — decline by double-digit levels over a 10-year period ending in 2008, according to an analysis of eight major industries conducted by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company.
Towers Watson has developed an online solution that dramatically cuts the cost and time involved in undertaking member-nominated trustee (MNT) elections.
Strengthening its property & casualty (P&C) mergers and acquisition (M&A) consulting capabilities, global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) has named Sean P. McDermott as a director of P&C consulting services.
Companies that completed acquisitions or mergers during the second quarter of 2010 continued to outperform the market, beating the MSCI World Index (the Index) by 3.1 percentage points, according to the latest Towers Watson Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor, the only M&A study to track the performance of global deals.
The Government’s proposed annuity reforms would allow future pensioners to seek better investment returns if they are prepared to risk outliving their money, says Towers Watson. However, according to firm, the eventual significance of the proposal to allow pensioners to access more of their money early on in retirement will depend on the size of the lifetime income that they first need to secure.
Alternative assets under management on behalf of pension funds by the world’s largest alternative investment managers remained unchanged in 2009 compared to the year before at US$817bn, according to global research produced by Towers Watson in conjunction with the Financial Times.
Today’s European Commission (EC) Green Paper holds significant promise of furthering the development of cross-border pension schemes according to global professional services company Towers Watson.
A majority of large employers now automatically enroll workers into their 401(k) plans, the nation’s predominant vehicle for employees to save for retirement, according to a new survey by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company.
Relatively few U.S. companies are well prepared to put their executive pay programs up to a say-on-pay shareholder vote, although many are taking steps to get ready if pending legislation that would give shareholders a greater voice in executive pay becomes law, according to a forthcoming survey by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company.
Though workforces may be leaner following the recession, HR professionals across the U.S. and Canada are supporting the drive for peak employee performance by expanding their commitment to talent management and the technologies that support it. According to the 13th annual Towers Watson survey on HR service delivery trends and practices, HR departments are more confident than ever in the value and efficiencies made possible through enhanced talent management systems. In fact, 42% of the more than 450 companies polled listed “talent/performance systems” as one of their top three HR service delivery issues for 2010. This was not only the most frequently selected issue among respondents, but it was also ranked as the top issue by the largest margin ever in the survey’s history.
The Budget announcement that public sector pensions and second-tier State Pensions will rise with CPI rather than RPI inflation from April 2011 means pensioners will get significantly less than they had expected, according to Towers Watson.
Strengthening its presence in the increasingly important Florida property & casualty (P&C) market, global professional services company Towers Watson has appointed two long-time industry veterans with vast experience in the state; Robert Betz and Lloyd Stofko.
The Government’s review of the State Pension Age could see it rise above 70 by the middle of the century, according to Towers Watson. Documents published today may also open the door to a more dramatic overnight change than has so far been expected.
The terms of reference for the review into automatic enrolment risk creating some strange incentives for employers and individuals, according to Towers Watson.
Global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) has sold VIPitech - an actuarial and financial modelling software unit - to Algorithmics in accordance with commitments it made to the European Commission (EC). The sale of VIPitech was a condition to the EC's clearance of the merger between Watson Wyatt and Towers Perrin.
Global professional services firm Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) has named Lawrence Racioppo to its insurance brokerage business, serving as leader of the business’s executive liability practice.
Pension tax changes announced today could lead to an annual tax charge of over £1,000 for a long-serving final salary scheme member earning £60,000, Towers Watson says – depending on how the policy is developed.
Spurred on by several regulatory, business and market issues, liability-driven investing (LDI) is becoming more prevalent among defined benefit pension investors in the United States as the dangers of focusing solely on asset returns become more apparent.
A fragile global economy, excess capacity in virtually every line of commercial insurance and last year’s below-average catastrophic losses combined to keep commercial insurance prices flat during the first quarter of 2010, according to global professional services company Towers Watson's (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) most recent Commercial Lines Insurance Pricing Survey (CLIPS).
If company culture and manager performance is any guide then Brazil and Portugal will contest the World Cup Final on July 11 according to analysis from Towers Watson.
A statement from the Pensions Regulator indicates that it will not routinely seek to scupper employers’ plans to reduce pension risks by giving members choices, according to Towers Watson.
As June 1 marked the official start of the 2010 U.S. hurricane season, awareness and preparation are paramount, according to global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW).
Recent actions of European policymakers have temporarily reassured markets and only gained them sufficient time to introduce necessary policy measures and consolidate the weak financial outlook according to a Towers Watson report.
Companies are paying closer attention to executive compensation than ever before — in response to growing scrutiny from shareholders, the federal government and others. With stakeholders demanding closer alignment of pay and performance, boards and compensation committees are under intense pressure to ensure that their executive incentive plans are well designed and deliver appropriate rewards for achieving corporate objectives.
Despite a bad month for stock markets, UK companies’ pension deficits actually shrunk by £7 billion during May, according to Towers Watson. This is because the future rates of inflation that markets anticipate are lower at the end of the month than they were at the start, reducing the expected cost of inflation-linked pension payments.
The number of large U.S. companies that are replacing their traditional defined benefit (DB) plans with account-based retirement plans for new salaried employees continues to increase, according to a new analysis by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company. Account-based plans include defined contribution (DC) plans, such as 401(k) plans, and hybrid pension plans, typically cash balance plans.
Although U.S. employers view controlling health care costs as their highest health care reform priority, few believe that the recently enacted Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will stem the tide of rising costs, according to a May 2010 survey by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company.
The inclusion of a Pensions Bill in the Queen’s Speech could be the first step towards a much faster rise in the State Pension Age, according to Towers Watson.
Defined contribution (DC) pensions require significant re-engineering if they are to better serve millions of individuals worldwide who were exposed to its failings during the financial crisis according to a Towers Watson publication.
The U.S. legislative and regulatory framework should facilitate and encourage offering lifetime income options for participants in defined contribution (DC) plans, such as 401(k)s, but the creation of related mandates should be avoided, according to Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company.
Health care reform’s so-called “Cadillac plan” excise tax will affect more than 60% of large employers’ active health plans by the provision’s 2018 enactment, according to an analysis conducted by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company.
While they haven’t significantly altered their approach to determining required capital as a result of the financial crisis, most North American life insurance chief financial officers (CFOs) said they are planning to adjust their strategies over the next 12 months, according to data from the latest survey from global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), Evolving Capital Management Practices.
Steve Webb, the new Minister of State for Pensions, is likely to query the way his department is implementing major pension reforms, according to Towers Watson. However, some of the decisions he has previously objected to have their roots in primary legislation with cross-party support so cannot be changed quickly and easily.
QIS5, a comprehensive test of the new Solvency II regime, is scheduled between August and November this year and represents one of the last opportunities for the insurance industry to influence the design and calibration of the new regulatory regime.
Retail Price Inflation was 5.3% in the 12 months to April 2010, according to figures published by the Office for National Statistics today. Towers Watson says this is the first time it has broken through the 5% ceiling which applies to inflation-linked increases to defined benefit pensions earned between 1997 and 2005.
The policy agreement published by the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats today contains a number of pension reforms. Towers Watson says the commitment to review the State Pension Age is more significant than bringing forward the earnings link for the Basic State Pension by another year, that higher rate tax relief appears safe at least for now, and that the review of public sector pensions should focus on what is the most cost-effective way of rewarding public sector employees.
As governments scramble to reform the prescription drug market in Canada, Towers Watson today announced the launch of the Canadian Rx Coalition, a ground-breaking new way for employers to manage employee drug plans through a cooperative alliance with other Canadian plan sponsors.
Institutional investors that have diversified their assets away from developed market equities during the past five to ten years will have made the case for diversification as almost every other asset class outperformed these markets during this period, according to an article in Towers Watson’s Global Investment Matters publication. In the article, entitled Is diversification dead?, the firm asserts that the risk of an equity-focused strategy remains high, especially given ongoing economic uncertainty and recommends that investors should seek both existing and new market opportunities to build more diversified portfolios.
After an extensive three-month review of the executive compensation (EC) consulting market in the U.S., Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) today reaffirmed its commitment to the EC consulting business, while reorienting its strategic approach to meet the evolving needs of clients. The strategic review was prompted in part by new Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proxy rules that require companies in some situations to disclose the consulting fees they pay to firms that provide both EC and other consulting services.
Continuing to expand the depth and breadth of expertise in its insurance brokerage business, global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) has appointed three senior brokers with nearly 85 years of combined experience — Craig Nelson, Steven Watts and Paul Perry.
Employees expect they will have to take more personal responsibility for their pensions over the coming years as the recession puts significant dents in many peoples’ retirement plans, according to research by global professional services company Towers Watson.
Companies that completed deals during the first quarter of 2010 outperformed the market, according to the latest Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor.
The Liberal Democrat manifesto, published yesterday, says the party favours “giving tax relief on pensions only at the basic rate so that everyone gets the same tax relief on their pension contributions”.
As obesity, work-related stress and chronic disease accelerate among the non-U.S.-based employees of multinationals, the number of multinational companies that are taking a global approach to mitigate these so-called “lifestyle diseases” will double by 2012. These findings were revealed by the Workforce Health Strategies: A Multinational Perspective, a survey conducted by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company.
People retiring in future are on average expected to receive their state pensions for almost two years longer than was expected when the current timetable for increasing the State Pension Age was agreed, according to Towers Watson's analysis of official population projections.
A vast majority of Canadian employers are taking steps to address the ongoing funding crisis facing their defined benefit (DB) pension plans, according to a new survey from Towers Watson, a global professional services company. The majority of employers surveyed also believe the pension funding crisis is likely to remain beyond the next few years.
Labour’s manifesto commitment to increase the Basic State Pension in line with earnings from 2012 removes the opportunity to save around £2bn a year by the end of the next Parliament and around £4bn a year in the long term by delaying it to 2015, according to Towers Watson.
The first annual fall in contributions to funded pension schemes to be recorded by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reflects funding plans for defined benefit schemes that were agreed in relatively benign circumstances and could quickly be reversed, according to Towers Watson.
The financial health of the nation’s 100 largest corporate pension plans improved modestly in 2009, largely due to strong stock market returns, although higher liabilities caused by lower discount rates tempered the overall improvement, according to a new analysis by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company. In the first look at actual year-end disclosures, the analysis found that 2009 funding levels and overall pension plan assets increased over 2008 levels, although funding for both years remained well below 2007 levels.
UK, April 6, 2010 – Draft legislation which is expected to be fast-tracked through parliament this week does not require any inflation-linked uprating of the income levels at which higher earners will be taxed on pension contributions from next April.
The Government has revealed that it expects the 2% charge levied on contributions to the new National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) pension scheme to last until around 2030.
The Chancellor’s announcement today on the default retirement age suggests that nothing has yet been ruled in or out but demographic pressures make reform look likely, according to Towers Watson.
HM Treasury has trebled its estimate of the one-off costs that pension schemes, employers and individuals will incur as a result of the tax on higher earners’ pension contributions that it is introducing from 2011, according to Towers Watson.
As the financial climate improves, U.S. life insurers say they will invest to enhance their enterprise risk management (ERM) function in 2010 and beyond, according to a joint study by CSC (NYSE: CSC) and Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), and in partnership with the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI).
Unfunded pension promises made to past and present UK public sector workers now amount to almost £1.2 trillion, according to Towers Watson. Including these liabilities would more than double the new estimate of the national debt to be revealed by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in Wednesday’s Budget.
The “Great Recession” may have ended, but its impact on the U.S. workforce and employment itself looks to be deep and longlasting, according to the results of new research from global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW). The Global Workforce Study (GWS) — a biennial survey of employee attitudes and workplace trends — confirms that the recession has fundamentally altered the way U.S. employees view their work and leaders today, while dramatically accelerating changes to the basic social contract that underpins employment here.
As the use of predictive modeling among insurance companies becomes increasingly prevalent, the combination of sophisticated actuarial expertise and advanced predictive modeling software to determine optimum pricing and risk selection strategies, will help insurers realize a competitive advantage.
While employers remain committed to offering health and productivity programs, they are frustrated by the inability of many workers to change their health habits. In an effort to encourage healthy behaviors, a growing number of employers are tightening their requirements for workers to receive financial incentives, according to a survey conducted by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company, and the National Business Group on Health (NBGH), a nonprofit association of large U.S. employers.
New figures from the Office for National Statistics show a continuing decline in the proportion of private sector employees saving in workplace pensions, according to Towers Watson. They also underline the ongoing shift from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) pension provision.
The number of bond mandates awarded by global professional services company Towers Watson’s (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) clients worldwide in 2009 increased by over 50% from 2008, which was already over 20% higher than the year before. The most significant increase in demand was for U.S. bonds, with twice the number of selections in 2009 as in 2008.
Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a leading global professional services company, and UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, have partnered to develop the Retiree Health Collaborative, a new health care coverage solution for retirees and employers.
Insurers should avoid planning paralysis and an overreliance on recruitment if they are to convince the Financial Services Authority (FSA) that they are making progress towards Solvency II compliance, warns global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW).
Despite the economic downturn, the average maximum contribution that large employers are making to defined contribution (DC) pensions is increasing, according to a survey of FTSE 100 companies by Towers Watson.
The Prime Minister’s choice of general election date will affect when the Basic State Pension must be linked to earnings, according to Towers Watson.
The continuing sluggish economy is forcing a growing number of large U.S. employers to take more aggressive measures to control rising health care costs and motivate workers to take charge of improving their own health, according to a survey conducted by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a global professional services company, and the National Business Group on Health (NBGH), a non-profit association of large U.S. employers.
The unsettled economy is having a major effect on claim operations, including rising loss costs, increased levels of litigation and higher rates of fraudulent claims. Further, the current financial environment is putting pressure on insurers’ expense management and expense-related claim performance metrics, according to a survey conducted by global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW).
Sydney, 16 February 2010 - Leading global consulting firm Towers Watson has made two new appointments to its Australian Investment Practice to provide enhanced services to its portfolio construction and manager research groups. Alek Misev has been appointed to the Portfolio Construction Group as an investment consultant, while Vineta Salale has been hired as an investment analyst. These appointments follow the announcement of seven recruits in the UK last month.
Fund managers are confident that higher equity returns and positive, albeit modest, economic growth will manifest a continued global recovery, according to a survey conducted by global professional services firm Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW).
Towers Watson has appointed Jason Pope as a client manager in its Technology and Administration Solutions Practice.
Towers Watson welcomes the proposals to improve the governance of Defined Contribution (DC) schemes contained in an industry consultation document published by the joint Government-industry Investment Governance Group (IGG).
Global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) has named Ashley Mims, senior consultant in its reinsurance brokerage business, the world’s fourth largest.
Global Professional Services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) has recruited Emma Hunt from Mercer Investment Consulting where she was a principal heading up the responsible investment (RI) and active ownership areas in Europe.
The Department for Work and Pensions has today published a series of regulations on the workplace pension reforms that are being introduced from 2012. A response to its recent consultation and a regulatory impact assessment for the new regulations has also been published.
Rates of return for defined benefit (DB) pension plans outpaced those for defined contribution (DC) plans, including employee-directed 401(k) plans, in 2007 and also in 2008, when the economic crisis began to unfold, according to a new analysis by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a leading global professional services company.
Employers assumed by the Pension Protection Fund to have least chance of going bust should brace themselves for higher PPF levies in 2011, according to Towers Watson.
Global institutional pension fund assets in the 13 major markets increased by 15% during 2009, from US$20 trillion to over US$23 trillion, according to Towers Watson’s Global Pension Assets Study released today.
The U.S. employment picture looks mixed at best in 2010, with hiring picking up at a majority of U.S. organizations even as some plan to continue making targeted workforce reductions, according to a new survey by Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW), a leading global professional services company. The survey did find signs of optimism, especially predictions that employee productivity and engagement will improve over the next year.
A significant majority of U.S. employers believe health care reform, if enacted, would lead to higher costs for both employer-sponsored benefit programs and health care services overall, according to initial results from an employer survey conducted by Towers Watson and the National Business Group on Health.
Towers Watson has appointed David Holding and Gregory Jackson as investment consultants to its Investment teams in the UK.
Towers Watson has turned positive about the strategic case for ‘opportunistic’ real estate investing, as part of a diversified long-term real estate strategy, but warns the associated fees for many vehicles are too high.
Global professional services company Towers Watson (NYSE, NASDAQ: TW) has examined several proposed or enacted state policy decisions during 2009 that were designed to begin to reshape Florida’s insurance market and strike a balance among the general price, availability and quality of property insurance.
Pension funding levels at large U.S. companies improved at the end of last year largely due to the rebounding stock markets. However, lower interest rates, which increased pension liabilities, continued to keep funding levels well below those in 2007, according to a new analysis by Towers Watson, a leading global professional services company. Furthermore, overall pension deficits remain substantial, and companies will need to make large contributions to their plans over the next few years.
Almost 1,200 defined benefit schemes closed to existing members between 2000 and 2008, according to figures published by the Pensions Regulator and the Pension Protection Fund this morning. One in five defined benefit schemes had closed to future accrual by March 2009.
Last year proved to be a reasonably good year for companies completing deals, especially those that closed transactions within their own borders, according to the latest Towers Watson Quarterly Deal Performance Monitor.
The Department for Work and Pensions has today published a series of regulations on the workplace pension reforms that are being introduced from 2012. A response to its recent consultation and a regulatory impact assessment for the new regulations has also been published.
Officially, the Government is still collecting evidence for its review of default retirement ages but an interview with Harriet Harman, the Leader of the House of Commons, in today’s Daily Mail hints that they may soon be abolished.
Towers Watson & Co. announced today the completion of the merger of Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt. The transaction to form Towers Watson, a leading global professional services company, was announced on June 28, 2009. Watson Wyatt Chief Executive Officer John Haley will serve as Towers Watson’s Chairman and Chief Executive Officer; Towers Perrin Chief Executive Officer Mark Mactas will serve as Deputy Chairman, President and Chief Operating Officer.
Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby, Inc. and Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ: WW), both leading global consulting firms, announced that at their respective special meetings of shareholders, each held earlier today, their shareholders adopted the merger agreement pursuant to which the companies will combine their businesses.
Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby, Inc. and Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ: WW), both leading global consulting firms, today announced that they have been granted conditional clearance from the European Commission to allow the Parties to proceed with their merger to form Towers Watson & Co. U.S. antitrust authorities previously cleared the transaction.
Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby, Inc. and Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ: WW) today announced that Jupiter Saturn Holding Company (“Jupiter Saturn”), the new entity formed as part of the merger process between Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt, filed a registration statement on Form S-4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Towers, Perrin, Forster & Crosby, Inc. and Watson Wyatt Worldwide, Inc. (NYSE, NASDAQ: WW) today announced that their respective Boards of Directors have unanimously approved a definitive agreement under which Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt will combine in a merger of equals to form a new, publicly listed company called Towers Watson & Co.
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