Who can join the offshore plan?

• Expatriate employees.
• Third country nationals.
• Local nationals who can not obtain cover locally (local rules permitting).
• Key executives.
• Different categories of staff.
  
  
  

What kinds of benefits can be offered?

• Benefits can be aligned with the company's national plan if there is a need to duplicate the benefits that would have been offered to employees should they have remained in their local country.
• Benefits can supplement or replace insufficient local benefit provision.
• A different set of benefits can be designed without the hinderance of local regulations.
• Benefits may be a bonus for key staff, separate from their local pension arrangement.
• Benefits may be different for different categories of staff within the plan.
  
  
  

Who will pay for the benefits?

• Employer:
  - fixed percentage (included in the rules);
  - total flexibility (part of individual employment contract);
  - company match only; or
  - company contributions only.
• Employee: fixed within a certain range or unlimited.
• Employee supplemental: available or not.
• Employee only: as part of savings plan.
  
  
  

When are benefits made available to members?

• Withdrawal allowed at any time whilst in service.
• Withdrawal allowed under certain conditions only (eg: children's education, purchase of a house or hardship) as validated by the employer or the trustees.
• Upon leaving service.
• Upon retirement only.
• In the event of death or disability.
  
  
  

What is the retirement age?

The employer determines the retirement age for all employees or each category of employee. Early or late retirement options may be available.

Is there a need to encourage employee loyalty through 'vesting'?

The term 'vesting' is a very important concept for the employees (and employers) as it defines the rules as to when, and in what proportion, the benefit accrues to the employee. If an employee is fully vested they are entitled to the full benefit accredited to their account.

Vesting can be determined on the basis of years of service or years of participation in the plan. In 'Defined Contribution Plans', any money invested by the employee (the employee contributions) will always accrue from the date of investment and will, therefore, be fully vested from inception of the plan. Any growth or loss on these employee contributions will be credited/borne by the employee. For the employee to benefit from the employer's contributions, the employee would have to have been employed for a defined period of service or alternatively participated in the plan for a defined period.

An example of a simple vesting period would be where an employee is employed for two years before being fully vested. This means that if an employee leaves employment before two years service they do not benefit from any employer contributions invested on their behalf. Upon completion of two years service they receive the full benefit, i.e. the current value of both their employee contributions plus those made by their employer.

Generali Worldwide can accommodate different periods of vesting, depending on the nature of the company's activities. Proportionate vesting can also be defined by the company.