Employee Benefits & Pensions

For anyone serious about attracting and keeping hold of talent, having an employee benefits insurance programme that people truly value is essential.
 

Whether you are a start-up company or an established one with benefits packages going back for numerous years, we will provide cover and service that will meet your needs.

Some of the services we offer to you

1. Design and implementation of the Benefits Plan that meets your aspirations
2. Guide you through legislative and regulatory complexities
3. Communicate with your employees and help you bring your benefits to life
4. In-depth analysis of your existing Employee Benefits policies
5. Day to day handling: such as administrative support and contract management
6. If required actuarial analysis, for instance, IAS 19.
    

What kind of schemes and insurances do we offer:  

Pension schemes 

In Belgium, pensions are usually done with an insurance company (pension funds being an alternative).

These type of collective insured pension plans are payable upon legal retirement, meaning that pension premiums are invested for a longer period, for starters up to 40 years or longer. 

It is a legal requirement minimum return of 1.75% per annum.

Under the current market conditions, achieving that means investing in unit-linked insured pension plans. They do not provide a guaranteed contractual return but with the prospect of generating a much higher return on the long run - which has historically always been the case... 

This is a much better option than the currently fixed-rate schemes available, which only pay 0.5% per year and are unsuitable for workplace pensions. 
 

Life insurance 

Life cover most of the time is included and combined with pensions under the same scheme and is considered as a standard cover included in the package, providing financial protection for the employees’ family members. 

Disability cover 

This provides income for your employee and is paid on top of the Social Security system, which has defined limits. Additional cover is an absolute must if you want to protect your employees financially when they need it the most. 

Namely when they are sick or when they have had an accident and would suffer from income loss because they cannot go to work. 

Also an important extra and fair priced cover that can be included, which is common practice, is a waiver of premium. In the case of incapacity to work, the insurance company will continue the premium payments instead of the employer and employee so that pension and life cover will be maintained.

Medical cover 

Medical cover is the best known insured employee benefit amongst Belgian employees. It is a must-have benefit for any employer who has employees on the payroll. 

Not only does this provide financial protection against inpatient and outpatient medical costs but this can be extended with covers for dental and vision care cost. 

Our Social Security system pays a limited part of medical costs. For some treatments our Social Security is sufficient but in many cases relying on social security could become a financial nightmare, for instance when hospitalized in a single room, costs for prosthesis, severe illnesses and so on. 

As an employer, you can stand out and help your employees protect themselves. Put your people first and they will put their clients first. That’s what Howden truly believes. People First. Do that and you will retain and attract talent.

We believe each person must protect himself and his family against financial losses due to accidents, illness, death and yes, even due to retirement.

For more information or if you want to discuss your specific needs, please contact us using the contact details below.