Featured News and Research

• Insider

  The Insider newsletter focuses on regulations, case law and policy, as well as providing in-depth, relevant research into benefits, retirement and HR issues. Continue reading...

• Health Care Reform: Unprecedented Scope and Impact

  Regulatory updates, survey findings and resources for U.S. employersContinue reading...

• Reform Legislation Poses New Challenges for Executive Compensation

  The sweeping financial services reform law ushers in a say-on-pay era that holds profound implications for executive compensation governance in major U.S. companies. Towers Watson offers insights on what companies can do to prepare for say on pay, provide an overview of executive compensation reforms near enactment and offer insights on new SEC guidance. Continue reading...

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  CFO Guidebook: Pensions and Corporate Financial Performance ― Intricately Linked, Volume 2

  Volume 2 of the CFO Guidebook, Pensions and Corporate Financial Performance -- Intricately Linked, explores four integrated primary policy areas that are crucial to successful retirement plan financial management: benefit poilicy, accounting policy, funding policy and investment policy.Continue reading...

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  Risk Managers Ready for Change

  According to a recent Towers Watson flash survey, risk managers are ready for change once the financial crisis recedes. Continue reading...

• Pension Funds Allocate Across the Breadth of Alternative Assets

  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.Continue reading...

• 2010 HR Service Delivery Survey Report

  Although it's been a top priority of HR executives for four consecutive years, more respondents than ever (nearly half) cited talent/performance systems as their main objective for 2010, according to Towers Watson's HR Service Delivery Survey of nearly 500 large and midsize companies around the world.

  Continue reading...

• Relief Provided for Pension Funding and Benefit Restrictions

  Today the President signed Preservation of Access to Care for Medicare Beneficiaries and Pension Relief Act of 2010 into law. The Act restores cuts in Medicare reimbursements to doctors and makes available relief for pension plan funding for years through 2011 and certain benefit restrictions for 2010.Continue reading...

• Emphasis 2010/1

  This year, Emphasis celebrates 25 years of bringing readers clarity and perspective on a range of complex insurance industry issues.Continue reading...

• Think You Can Predict Who is Likely to Succeed? Sometimes You Can’t.

  Malcolm Gladwell, a noted author and speaker widely recognized for his unique perspectives, discussed three commonly made, yet misguided, assumptions about the power of prediction at a packed Towers Watson Dinner and Dialogue event at Le Bernardin in New York City, on April 29. This is a recap of his remarks.Continue reading...

• Selecting Executive Compensation Advisors: Towers Watson's Perspective

  With the recent announcement of our clients-first approach to executive compensation consulting, companies have more options when seeking objective and informed executive compensation advice. This article presents our perspective on the important questions companies should be asking themselves in choosing a consultant.Continue reading...

• Employers Brace for Health Care Reform-Related Cost Increases but Remain Committed to Subsidizing Employee Coverage

  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.Continue reading...

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  IASB Proposes Changes to IAS 19 – As the Accounting for Retirement Plans Evolves (North America)

  In a further step in the evolution of the accounting for retirement benefits, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued its long-awaited Exposure Draft (ED) of proposed changes to IAS 19, Employee Benefits.Continue reading...

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  Global Workforce Study

  The 2010 Global Workforce Study pinpoints a watershed moment in the evolution of the employment relationships around the world. From the global recession and financial defaults to changes in business models and strategic priorities, both employers and employees are being forced to revisit some fundamental assumptions about their implicit and explicit "compact" with one another.Continue reading...