‘Initially Vanbreda helped us with a number of insurance tenders, both in the area of occupational accidents and in consolidating an old pension benefits portfolio,’ explains Stefaan Boom of the major bank BNP Paribas Fortis. ‘We also needed a solution for the acquisition of a historical scheme for reimbursements of medical expenses. Tailor-made regulations were promptly drawn up, as was a properly functioning Service Level Agreement.’
Two years on, BNP Paribas Fortis can look back on a successful migration. ‘But we can also rely on Vanbreda’s expertise for training and internal or external surveys.’
Stefaan Boom believes this expertise, together with professionalism and sector knowledge, to be Vanbreda’s greatest strengths. ‘The enthusiasm of your staff is really striking. It’s quickly apparent that you approach concrete cases in a very objective and independent way in search of solutions that best suit our company. There is always an atmosphere of trust, in which the broker’s interests are secondary.’
Stefaan Boom believes that Vanbreda always looks for the ideal solution. ‘In certain sensitive cases, we even had to apply the brakes to ensure that historical relations with insurers were kept intact. Continuous consultation, however, also ensured the right balance was maintained between the best price/quality ratio and a good relationship of trust with our insurers.’
Anyone with questions about an Employee Benefits scheme can certainly turn to Vanbreda, according to Stefaan Boom. ‘Vanbreda is perfectly capable of managing historical benefit schemes for hospitalisation or incapacity for work. You can sense the extensive experience in this field based on numerous projects for other large enterprises.’
The minimum guaranteed return on supplementary pensions has been 1.75% since 2016. On 1 January 2025, following this long period at a constant level, the statutory guaranteed return will rise to 2.50%. What impact does this increase have on your company’s pension schemes?
By means of global benefits management, your organisation can easily run a strong employee benefits package worldwide. This structured, central approach provides a useful overview of all benefits and enables you to put together an attractive package in the war for talent. If social security is non-existent or too limited in one of the countries where you’re based, you can also provide your employees there with additional support through this insurance package. Employee benefits expert Kristof Baertsoen talks about the advantages of global benefits management in the latest episode of our video podcast Succes Verzekerd.
From 1 November 2024, hospitalisation insurance will cover the costs of a suicide attempt. The law of 21 April 2024 has amended existing health cost insurance legislation to this end.
Since 2019, local authorities have been encouraged to introduce or develop a supplementary pension scheme for the benefit of their contractual staff. If – among other requirements – this supplementary pension scheme is large enough, meaning in practice a contribution of at least 3% to a defined contribution scheme, the local authority is eligible for a discount of up to 50% on the additional annual shortfall contribution. This discount is adjusted by the latest pension reform to maintain the financial robustness of the Common Pension Fund.
