SESSION DESCRIPTIONS & SPEAKER BIOS

 KEYNOTE SESSION:  EU PRIVATE PENSIONS LANDSCAPE AND FUTURE POLICY DEVELOPMENTS

Thank you to Cathy Smith and Francisco Medeiros Cordeiro for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Hugo Borginho (Portugal)

Hugo Borginho (Portugal): Hugo Borginho is Director of the Solvency and Risk Analysis Department of the Portuguese Insurance and Pension Funds Supervisory Authority (ASF), with responsibilities on prudential policy and financial stability of the insurance and pension fund sectors, and invited lecturer of the ISEG and NOVA-IMS Lisbon universities. He holds a MSc degree on Actuarial Management from the Cass Business School of the City University of London. He is also a member of the Advisory Technical Committee of the European Systemic Risk Board, of the Macroprudential Committee of the International Association of Insurance Supervisors and of the jury for certification of responsible actuaries for the Portuguese insurance market.

 WORKSHOP 1:  AROUND THE WORLD IN 75 MINUTES: FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES OF PENSION REGIMES

Thank you to Lyle Teichman and Louis Kuypers for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Jeff Mamorsky (USA), Jonathan Mort (South Africa), Louis Kuypers (Netherlands), Lyle Teichman (Canada), Michael Wolfe (Ireland)

Jeff Mamorsky (USA): Jeffrey D. Mamorsky is a Principal Shareholder with the law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP and Co-Chairman of its Global Benefits and Compensation, ERISA Litigation and Global Human Capital Solutions Groups.  Jeff has over 50 years of experience in all aspects of employee benefits and executive compensation law.  He has served as employee benefits counsel to large multinational corporations, financial institutions, insurance companies, closely held businesses, not-for-profit organizations, accounting firms, employee benefits consulting firms, large multiple employer plans and major multi-employer pension and welfare funds. Jeff’s two-volume treatise Employee Benefits Law and the Employee Benefits Handbook have been cited as authority on numerous occasions by the U.S. Supreme Court and other federal and state courts.  He is also the Author of Health Care Benefits Law, and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Compensation and Benefits. In addition, he lectures widely on ERISA and employee benefits and was one of the drafters of the ERISA law and subsequent governmental regulations thereunder. Jeff is a Charter Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, Member of the IRS Northeast Region Pension Liaison Group and Founding member and former Counsel to the ERISA Industry Committee (“ERIC”) and has been recognized as a leading lawyer by Best Lawyers and Super Lawyers. 

Lyle Teichman (Canada): Lyle Teichman is a Senior Consulting Lawyer in the Toronto office of Willis Towers Watson. His practice focuses on pension and employee benefits law, supplemental employee retirement plans (SERPs), pension tax issues and cross-border compensation issues. Lyle provides legal and strategic advice to a wide range of clients in all areas of pension and employee benefits, including pension issues in mergers and acquisitions, plan terminations, pension plan design, governance, administration, funding, investments, cross-border pension issues, executive pension matters and tax planning for departing and transferring executives and senior employees. Lyle initially joined Towers Perrin in 1996. Prior to rejoining Towers Watson in September, 2014, Lyle was a senior pensions counsel with a national Canadian law firm. Lyle is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Ontario Bar Association, and the International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association. Lyle is past Chair of the Financial Services Commission of Ontario Legal Advisory Committee, a past member of the executive of the Pension and Employee Benefits Section of the Ontario Bar Association, a past member of the Canada Revenue Agency Pension Advisory Committee and a past member of the Discipline and Capacity Committee of the Human Resources Professional Association (Ontario). Lyle is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and a guest lecturer at Osgoode Professional Development.

Michael Wolfe (Ireland): Michael Wolfe is a pensions lawyer and partner at William Fry with wide ranging knowledge and experience in the Irish pensions sector across all aspects of pensions. He advises many leading employers and scheme trustees. His practice ranges from drafting and amending scheme documentation, restructuring pension schemes, the application of pensions regulatory legislation, trusteeship and scheme governance, the pensions aspects of corporate M&As and outsourcings to advising on pensions disputes and pensions litigation. He also advised the Irish Government on two occasions in relation to complex and demanding pension issues in the privatisation of a state-owned enterprise. Michael is consistently rated in the top tier of pensions advisers by legal directories Legal 500 EMEA and Chambers Europe. Michael is a past secretary of the Association of Pension Lawyers in Ireland and is the Irish representative for IPEBLA’s quarterly journal “International Pension Lawyer”. He has written and spoken on various aspects of his practice and is the author of the Irish chapter in "Tolley's Pensions Law". He has also lectured and presented workshop tutorials for the Law Society's Diploma in Pensions Law.

 WORKSHOP 2:  COVERING YOUR FIDUCIARY *** WHEN CONTRACTING WITH PLAN PROVIDERS

The workshop will provide a brief overview of the basic framework for pensions in each of the U.S., Australia and Canada, and address some of the major considerations and best practices in each jurisdiction for trustees, boards of directors and/or pension committees to consider and adopt when outsourcing plan administration and investment activities.   Common risks and challenges in meeting one’s fiduciary duty will be discussed and the panel will provide opportunities for attendees to provide insight into differences that may exist in other jurisdictions. 

Thank you to Bethune Whitson for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Bethune Whitson (Canada), Ian Pendleton (Australia), John Woyke (USA)

Bethune Whitson (Canada):  Bethune is a Vice-President in the Ontario Retirement Solutions and International Practice of Morneau Shepell and consults, speaks and writes internationally on pension & benefit plan issues. With over 30 years of experience, Bethune manages Morneau Shepell’s Governance, Legal and Compliance Consulting Team in Toronto and acts a lead legal on many files for the Regulatory Practice, a large multi-specialty team of people working on over 180 pension plan wind-ups and restructurings in Canada, including Nortel, Sears, Stelco, Royal Oak Mines, Algoma and Indalex. Bethune participates regularly on committees and industry working groups. Bethune has held the position of Chair, both of the Legal Advisory Committee to the Financial Service Commission of Ontario and the Ontario Council of the Association of Canadian Pension Management. She was also a past Executive member of the Pension and Benefits Section of the Ontario Bar Association. Bethune is Vice-Chair of the Ontario Financial Services Tribunal. She is a past faculty member of the Osgoode Certificate in Pension Law. Bethune coordinates publication of the Morneau Shepell Handbook of Canadian Pension and Benefit Plans. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts from Western University in 1983 (Dean’s Honour List) and a Juris Doctor (originally a Bachelor of Laws) from University of Toronto Law School in 1986. She also obtained a Certificate of Adjudication for Administrative Agencies, Boards and Tribunals from the Osgoode Hall Law School of York University and the Society of Ontario Adjudicators and Regulators in 2014.

John Woyke (USA): John is of counsel to Brody and Associates, a boutique law firm specializing in Employment issues. He has had a long career in employee benefits, much of it as a principal of consulting firm Towers Perrin (now Willis Towers Watson). His practice focuses on the ERISA and tax issues facing employers and employees in designing, funding and administering plans providing retirement, compensation and other benefits through the employment relationship. Besides being an attorney, John is also a fellow of the Conference of Consulting Actuaries

Ian Pendleton (Australia): Ian Pendleton has worked in pension law and regulation for over 25 years, commencing with the federal regulator, the Insurance and Superannuation Commission in the early 1990’s before moving into an in-house legal team at Perpetual Limited, a leading retail provider of financial services. Ian joined First State Super in 2012 as General Counsel and Company Secretary. Ian leads a busy in-house legal and company secretariat team who provide legal support across a broad range of legal and governance issues to the First State Group. The First State Group currently has more than $95bn in funds under management and 800,000 members. Ian has degrees in Arts and Law, is a GAICD and has been a member of the Superannuation Committee of the Law Council of Australia in 2013 and is currently its secretary.

 WORKSHOP 3:  PENSION AND BENEFITS LITIGATION CASE STUDIES 

In this workshop, each panelist will outline the facts of a real or hypothetical case that raises issues of particular interest in his or her jurisdiction. Panel members will discuss the litigation challenges and other issues that could arise in such a case in their own jurisdictions, as well as effective approaches for dealing with such cases.

Thank you to David Stamp for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: David Stamp (Canada), Onno Blom (Netherlands), Alex G. Romain (USA)

Alex G. Romain (USA): Alex Romain is a trial lawyer and partner at Irell & Manella LLP in Los Angeles, California. Alex has nearly 20 years’ experience in high-stakes, complex commercial litigation, professional liability defense, and white collar criminal defense. As lead counsel, Alex represented a leading global professional services company in an $830 million malpractice lawsuit brought by the City of Houston, Texas, in connection with the City’s $6.2 billion pension crisis. Alex was a member of the trial team that exonerated the late Senator Ted Stevens, playing a key role in pursuing the exculpatory evidence that ultimately led to the Senator’s exoneration. The American Lawyer described his team’s work on the case as “one of the best criminal defense performances in memory, resulting in a heightened scrutiny of prosecutors that will affect the Justice Department for years to come.” Alex also successfully represented the Baltimore Ravens in connection with the independent investigation conducted by former FBI Director Robert Mueller into the National Football League’s handling of the Ray Rice domestic violence incident. Alex has been recognized as a Benchmark California Litigation Star, one of Savoy Magazine’s 50 “Most Influential Black Lawyers, “ and one of Lawdragon’s “500 Leading Lawyers in America.”

David Stamp (Canada):David is recognized as an expert litigator specializing in pension and benefits litigation and employment litigation. He represents major pension funds and corporations in various pensions litigation matters, and has acted for the successful party in a number of well known pension and benefits cases at various levels of court including the Ontario Court of Appeal and the Federal Court of Appeal, as well as before regulatory tribunals. David also has extensive experience acting for employers defending wrongful dismissal, restrictive covenant, and other employment-related litigation. David’s industry recognition includes The Best Lawyers in Canada, 2009-2018, recognized in the area of Employee Benefits Law; Acritas Stars, 2018, recognized as a Star Lawyer; and The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory, 2014-2018, Repeatedly Recommended in the area of Pensions & Employee Benefits – Employer.

Onno Blom (the Netherlands): Onno Blom (1957, The Netherlands) is one of the founders and co-owner of Blom Veugelers Zuiderman Advocaten. He is an experienced pensions litigator and arbiter and is considered to be one of the leading pension lawyers in The Netherlands. According to his Band 1 ranking in Chambers Europe 2019, “Sources praise Onno Blom of Blom Veugelers Zuiderman Advocaten for his "very strong track record" in the pensions area. Another commentator highlights Blom's "in-depth pensions law knowledge." Clients describe Onno as one of the best experts in the country for pensions work and he is praised for his technical expertise and personable approach. In addition to his pension law practice, Onno works as a Deputy Justice in the Court of Appeals in The Hague. Furthermore, he teaches pension law at the Dutch Training and Study Centre for the Judiciary. Onno graduated from Utrecht University in 1983 and started his career as a pension and insurance lawyer at Delta Lloyd where he became Head of the Legal staff and board member of the company pension fund. From 1989 through 1994 he worked as a pension consultant. In 1995 he joined Stibbe, the Amsterdam based law firm, where he became the firm’s pension law specialist. In 2000, Onno established his private practice in a suburb of Utrecht, The Netherlands, specializing in pensions and labour law issues. Over the years, Onno published many articles in his field of practice. He speaks regularly at pension law conferences and seminars. He is an active member and former Secretary of the Dutch Association for Pension Law. He was chairman of the Board of Directors and liquidator of the Dutch Bar Association Pension Fund. Onno is a member of the Dutch Circle of Pension Specialists (KPS) and of IPEBLA. He spoke on pensions at the IPEBLA conferences in Athens, Greece (2009), Berlin (2011), Prague (2017) and was a member of the Conference Committee and speaker on the IPEBLA 2015 conference in Brussels. In 2018, he spoke on litigation issues at the ABA/CBA/IPEBLA conference in Boston, MA. Onno is independent chairman of the Disputes Committee of Post NL Pension Fund, and holds similar positions at the Dutch pension funds of Chevron, PepsiCo and KPN (telecom).

 WORKSHOP 4:  IPEBLA EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION - GLOBALLY MOBILE EXECUTIVES: SECONDMENT AGREEMENTS AND OTHER CONTRACTUAL ARRANGEMENTS

In this global economy, the mobility of executives and other key employees becomes vital.  The favored next CEO for a German conglomerate is a Canadian citizen and works for the Canadian subsidiary.  What are the issues of having this employee working in the Germany-based headquarters for 5 years?  What do I need to know when I send my U.K. Business group president to work in the Canadian headquarters for 2 years?  Will Brexit impact the ability to have short term workers in the U.K.?  These issues and more will be explored by the panelists from the jurisdictions of Germany, the United Kingdom and Canada.  The panelists will identify the variety of applicable rules in their respective jurisdictions, from employment to contract, pension, health insurance, tax and dispute resolution, and collectively work through examples of how the different laws apply to the workers in and citizens of their jurisdictions.

Thank you to Victoria Zerjav for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Clive Pugh (UK). Deron Waldock (Canada), Peter Wehner (Germany), Victoria Zerjav (USA)

Clive Pugh (UK):  He advises on all aspects of pensions law, and specialises in clearance, PPF cases, scheme funding and governance. Clive spent over five years at the Pensions Regulator before joining Burges Salmon and his private practice background, coupled with his regulatory experience, creates an ideal fit for advising trustees of ongoing schemes. Clive's experience includes: Advising on the pension schemes for Belfast International Airport, the PDSA, the Quinn Group, Herdmans, Cambridge University Press, Munich Re and Northern Ireland Transport/Translink; advising on pension scheme funding and clearance issues, whilst at the Regulator; advising on the majority of high profile scheme funding cases where there has been regulatory interest; and presenting regular scheme funding workshops to industry members and being a well-known speaker at conferences held by the actuarial profession. He is also a regular commentator in the regional and national press, and in industry publications. Clive is a member of the Association of Pensions Lawyers, the Pensions Management Institute and the Association of Pensions Lawyers' Parliamentary and Legislative Committee.

Peter Wehner (Germany):  Peter is a Counsel at Allen & Overy LLP’s office in Frankfurt am Main, Germany.Peter advises on all individual and collective employment law issues. A particular focus of his work is pensions, in which he advises on the design, implementation and modification of pension schemes. His clients benefit from his extensive experience in this field. Efficiently structured pension systems represent a decisive advantage both in the transaction environment and in day-to-day administration – regardless of whether this involves structural considerations in transactions, the replacement or reorganisation of pension systems or the spin-off and financing of pension liabilities. Peter is characterised by a high level of entrepreneurial thinking and thus offers his clients genuine added value from day one. In addition, he advises in particular on the employment law aspects of company acquisitions, IPOs and restructurings and represents clients in employment and pensions disputes. As a member of the International Pension & Employee Benefits Lawyers Association (IPEBLA) (Steering Committee) and of the German Working Group for Occupational Pensions (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für betriebliche Altersversorgung e.V. – aba), Peter is always up-to-date regarding current topics and is actively involved in shaping the latest trends in the field of pensions. He is an extremely sought-after and esteemed speaker and seminar leader on topics from the fields of employment, pensions and benefits, for example as a lecturer at the SRH University in Heidelberg.

Deron Waldock (Canada):  Deron Waldock is a partner in our National Pensions, Benefits & Executive Compensation Group in Toronto. He provides strategic legal advice to employers with respect to pension plans, profit sharing plans, registered retirement savings plans, welfare benefits plans, retirement compensation arrangements and other areas of executive compensation. He has broad and deep experience with respect to the treatment of plans on purchase or sale of a business and corporate reorganizations (including CCAA) and provides advice as to entitlement to use of surplus assets. With more than 20 years’ experience in connection with the design, administration, operation and compliance of pension plans, Deron’s clients count on him to deliver results and find creative approaches to their pensions and benefits challenges and deliver results. He is noted in particular for his enthusiastic creativity in devising common sense solutions to complex challenges by disaggregating and reassembling the problem to investigate every possibility and deliver practical, real world advice and guidance. Deron’s clients look to him for his practical approach to pensions law. He understands that to provide the best advice, he needs to understand your business, your appetite for risk, and how you measure success. Having previously led the legal consulting and compliance practice at a major consulting firm, Deron has developed an appreciation for the not just the legal side of pensions work, but the role actuarial science has in future-proofing his clients’ pension, group benefit and profit-sharing plans. His clients have included universities, municipal bodies, governmental agencies, multinational corporations and jointly-trusteed and multi-employer pension plans. In addition, he has significant transaction experience involvingj numerous publicly traded entities with pension plans involving employees in numerous Canadian jurisdictions. Deron has written and spoken at numerous industry conferences in virtually all areas of pension law, including obligations of administrators and other fiduciaries, governance, communication and legal liability, mergers and acquisitions, insolvencies, investments, executive pensions and risk management. Prior to joining McCarthy Tétrault, he was Canadian Practice Leader, Legal Consulting & Compliance at a major international consulting firm, having been previously a partner in the Pension and Employee Benefit Group of a national law firm. Past chair of both the Canadian Pension and Benefits Institute Ontario Region and the pensions and benefits executive of the Ontario Bar Association, Derron has also been a guest lecturer at Osgoode Hall Law school and was also a member of the FSCO Legal Advisory Committee. Deron has previously been rated as a leading lawyer in the area of pensions and employee benefits in Chambers Global and Martindale Hubbell. Deron received his BA from the University of Waterloo in 1989 and his LLB from Western University in 1992. He is called to the Ontario and Alberta bars.

 WORKSHOP 5:  DEALING WITH PLANS AND ACCRUED LIABILITIES IN MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

This Workshop will address the following issues (in Germany, Ireland, Canada and the US):

• Introduction and summary description of the current regulatory position
• What are the current trends in pensions regulation, in particular affecting mergers and acquisitions?
• Practical issues for vendors / purchasers in M&A transaction
• What are the particular issues for trustees of schemes and administrators of multi-employer plans?

Thank you to Brian Buggy for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Brian Buggy (Ireland), Deidre Cummins (Ireland), Frank Palmieri (USA), Thomas Granetzny (Germany)

Frank Palmieri (USA): Frank Palmieri is a partner in the law firm of Palmieri & Eisenberg, located in Princeton, New Jersey. Mr. Palmieri has over 37 years of experience in applying tax, ERISA, labor, employment and insurance laws to complex transactions, and helping employers understand the ramifications of their decisions. Mr. Palmieri has extensive experience in both tax and ERISA employee benefit matters, including the establishment, operation and termination of qualified retirement plans for public and privately held companies and not-for-profit entities; implementation and review of executive compensation and equity compensation programs; nonqualified deferred compensation plans for taxable and tax-exempt organizations; healthcare and cost containment; design of Section 125 cafeteria plans; HIPAA compliance; U.S. compensation programs; mergers and acquisitions; retiree medical and COBRA issues; and employee benefits litigation.

Brian Buggy (Ireland): Brian is a partner and a member of the Employment Pensions and Benefits Group of Matheson. He heads the firm’s pensions and benefits practice. He has extensive experience in many areas of pensions and employee benefits law. Brian is a member and a former Chairman of The Association of Pension Lawyers in Ireland. He is a representative member of the Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF) and he is also a member of the Council of the IAPF. He is a former member of the IPEBLA Steering Committee. He is an associate member of the Association of Pension Lawyers (UK). Brian is a former member of the Irish Pensions Board (2000-2005) (the Irish Pensions Regulator) on which he represented the legal profession. He is joint author of the textbook: Irish Pensions Law & Practice, 2 Ed (2006).

Deirdre Cummins (Ireland): Deirdre is a partner and a member of the Employment Pensions and Benefits Group of Matheson and specialises in pensions and benefits law. Deirdre advises trustees and employers on all aspects of Irish pension arrangements both in the private and public sectors. In particular, Deirdre advises on issues arising from the ongoing management and administration of pension arrangements, from establishment to winding up. She also advises on the pensions aspects of corporate transactions. Deirdre has broad experience in pensions litigation and has advised extensively on contentious matters between employers and trustees in the context of restructuring and winding-up schemes. Deirdre is a member and a former Chairman of The Association of Pension Lawyers in Ireland.

Thomas Granetzny (Germany):Thomas is a Principal Associate in the People and Reward group in Düsseldorf. He is a specialist on pension issues, in particular in connection with complex M&A transactions and restructurings. He acts for corporations and pension funds, in particular in the context of transactions. In this respect he has advised on various employment and pension matters, including the transfer and carve-out of pension liabilities. In addition, he frequently represents clients in labor and pension disputes in court proceedings, including before the Federal Labor Court in Germany. Thomas Granetzny regularly lectures and publishes in legal journals on a variety of company pensions issues. Further, he is a co-author of one of the leading employment law commentaries on company pensions in Germany.

 WORKSHOP 6:  EMPLOYER DRUG POLICIES AND DRUG BENEFITS: MEDICAL MARIJUANA, PRESCRIPTION DRUGS AND OPIOIDS

Thank you to Rachael Lee for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Rachael Lee (Canada), Stephan Swinkels (the Netherlands)

Stephan Swinkels (the Netherlands): Stephan, is admitted to practice in Amsterdam and is a partner at Littler’s New York office. He works closely with our global offices. He understands both the big picture and detailed nuances of global workforce challenges, and the need for consistent, high-quality legal service across borders.

Rachael Lee (Canada): Rachael’s practice covers a broad range of corporate matters, with a specialization in pensions, executive compensation and employment law. She has acted for clients in public and private mergers and acquisitions, banking, corporate governance and other corporate matters. She also advises in all areas of employment law including employment standards, hiring and separation, pensions and benefits and executive compensation.

 WORKSHOP 7:  DEVELOPMENTS IN DEFINED CONTRIBUTION PLAN DESIGN – FROM BASIC SAVINGS TO EFFECTIVE RETIREMENT INCOME PLANS

Defined contribution retirement plans are increasingly common across most jurisdictions.  They are also quickly evolving.  While DC plans have always been a good way for people to accumulate retirement savings, many DC plans today are focusing on ways to ensure income is delivered in retirement.  Pension laws, regulatory standards and investment rules are all evolving to meet the demand for better DC plans.  This panel will explore some of the current issues and trends facing pension policy makers and plan sponsors as defined contribution plan designs gain ground on traditional defined benefit plans.  Each panelist will identity some of the trending issues in his or her jurisdiction, finding common ground or identifying unique aspects vis-à-vis other places.  In addition, an interactive conversation with the audience is planned, whereby other perspectives and experiences from a variety of jurisdictions can be heard. 

Particular focus will be on the evolution of:

• DC Plan governance practices and standards
• Options for the distribution of DC account balances, from lump sums to variable income to annuities
• New plan designs and plan design features

Thank you to Kenneth Burns for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Tim Zuiderman (Netherlands), Michelle Rival (Canada), Howard Pianko, (USA), Brenda Krummeck (South Africa)

Tim Zuiderman (Netherlands):  Tim Zuiderman (1980, The Netherlands) is co-owner of Blom Veugelers Zuiderman Advocaten, a Dutch law firm specialized in pension law. Tim graduated from Utrecht University in 2002 in both civil law and criminal law. After graduating he immediately joined Onno F. Blom Advocaten, one of the merging firms of Blom Veugelers Zuiderman Advocaten, and became co-owner of Onno F. Blom Advocaten in 2011. For many years, Tim teaches pension law, contributing to the postgraduate education of practising lawyers. Additionally, Tim is an independent chairman of the Disputes Committee of the pension fund Ford NL. He is also involved with the Dutch Association for Pension Law (previous as a board member) and the Dutch Circle of Pension Specialists, KPS (previous as chairman of the board). Tim Zuiderman regularly publishes articles and is co-author of a number of books in the field of pension law.

Michelle Rival (Canada):  Michelle Rival is a senior legal consultant in Willis Towers Watson’s Benefits Advisory and Compliance group in Toronto and has more than 20 years of industry expertise. Michelle specializes in defined benefit and defined contribution pension and benefit design, legislative compliance, plan documentation, pension and benefit issues relating to corporate transactions and employment-related issues. She also advises clients, boards and their pension committees on fiduciary matters and the governance of employee benefits and retirement plans. Prior to joining Willis Towers Watson in 1996, Michelle worked as a pension researcher for one of the largest DB pension plans in Ontario. Michelle received her LL.B. from the University of Western Ontario in 1994 and was called to the bar in 1996.  She is a member of the Pension and Benefits Section of the Ontario Bar Association and serves on the executive committee.  She was also a member of the Legal Advisory Committee for the Financial Services Committee of Ontario, the Law Society of Upper Canada and the International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association. Michelle has spoken at conferences held at the Ontario Bar Association and taught part of the plan design seminar for the Centre for Employee Benefits through Humber College.

Howard Pianko (USA): Howard Pianko is a partner in the Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Department of Seyfarth Shaw LLP. Over his career, he has advised clients on a wide range of matters relating to employee benefits, both in the U.S. and with respect to cross-border, multinational, related matters.  His international experience includes advising as to such cross-border considerations as:  (i) executive compensation (including employment, secondment, equity/incentive and separation agreements); (ii) providing retiree benefits for a mobile workforce; (iii) benefit aspects of corporate transactions - mergers, acquisitions/divestments and joint ventures;(iv) plan investments; (v) global plan governance and risk mitigation processes; and (vi) contentious disputes involving compensatory and/or benefit related litigation.  He is a co-founder of the Global Benefits and Compensation Roundtable sponsored by the Conference Board and the American Benefits Council.

Brenda Krummeck (South Africa): Brenda Krummeck is a Director of Trustee Services at Verso Financial Services where she advises clients on fund benefit structure, corporate governance and legal and technical matters.  Brenda also deals with the legal matters which are before the Pension Funds Adjudicator for the Verso clients. Brenda has 38 years employee benefits experience, having worked at Alexander Forbes and Old Mutual where she headed up administration departments and employee benefits consulting to a number of clients. Brenda has a Higher Certificate in Insurance (IISA) (Licentiate of IISA) and a Certificate in Pensions Law.  She is a FPI member, a member of Batseta, a member of the South African Pension Lawyers’ Association (PLA) and a member of the International Pension and Employee Benefit Law Association (IPEBLA). She has served on the National Steering Committee of the Pension Lawyers’ Association since 2007 and was a Past President of the Association. In 2017 she obtained an Occupational Certificate: Professional Principal Executive Officer and holds the title of Chartered Executive Principal Officer.  She is the Principal Officer of four (4) Verso-Sponsored Umbrella Funds. 

Kenneth Burns (Canada): Ken is a partner in the Lawson Lundell’s Pension and Employee Benefits Law Practice Group. He advises pension and benefit plan sponsors on a range of legal and regulatory issues affecting their plans, including on pension plan governance and compliance monitoring projects, regulatory applications and the handling of pension disputes. He works with managers in the drafting and maintenance of pension documents, including plan texts, trust declarations, governance policies, statements of investment policies, as well as investment manager and other service provider contracts. Ken is frequently involved in assisting parties in mergers and acquisitions on the pension and benefits issues arising in the course of planning and executing their transactions. Ken has a law degree from the University of Western Ontario and a Master of Business Administration degree from McGill University. Ken was named Employee Benefits Law Lawyer of the Year in 2017 & 2019 for Vancouver in The Best Lawyers in Canada. He has been recognized by Chambers Canada and Chambers Global in the pensions & benefits (Canada) category, Legal 500 Canada and is rated AV by the Martindale-Hubbell International Law Directory in the pensions, employee benefits and pension fund investments categories

 WORKSHOP 8:  IPEBLA EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION - DEFERRED COMPENSATION ARRANGEMENTS (FIFTEEN YEARS OF CODE SECTION 409A IN THE US)

The speakers will address the principal rules governing non-governmental deferred compensation arrangements (other than stock compensation and tax-subsidized defined benefit and defined contribution plans) in Canada and the United States and invite discussion of such schemes in other jurisdictions.

Thank you to George Bostick for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: George Bostick (USA), Mark Firman (Canada), Todd Solomon (USA)

Todd Solomon (USA):  Todd Solomon is the global practice group leader of the employee benefits and executive compensation practice group of McDermott Will & Emery LLP, based in its Chicago office.  Todd focuses his practice primarily on tax-qualified savings plans, pension plans, and executive deferred compensation arrangements.  He has particular expertise working on plan investment and fiduciary matters and counseling benefit plan committees regarding their fiduciary duties.  Todd also counsels plan sponsors regarding international benefits and global mobility matters, alternative investment issues under ERISA, employee benefits issues involved in corporate transactions, executive employment and severance matters, and the implementation of benefit programs for domestic partners and same-sex spouses.  Todd is the author of Guide to Benefits for Domestic Partners and Same-Sex Couples.

George Bostick (USA): George Bostick served as the Benefits Tax Counsel in the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Tax Policy for six years from 2009 until 2015. Before that he was in private practice with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan (now Eversheds Sutherland) for 35 years, having joined Sutherland after a clerkship on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He has been active in the American Bar Association for many years, having chaired or co-chaired various committees and national institutes, including the ABA National Institute on Executive Compensation and the Joint Committee on Employee Benefits. George received his undergraduate degree in economics from Emory University and his law degree from the University of Virginia, where he served as Notes Editor for the Virginia Law Review. He is currently an independent attorney.

Mark Firman (Canada): Mark Firman is Partner at Davies Ward Phillips & Vineberg LLP in Toronto, Canada. He advises on all aspects of pensions, benefits and executive compensation law. In particular, Mark has experience with pension plan governance, structuring pension fund investments and pension litigation. Mark is regularly published and interviewed and has received a number of industry rankings and honours. He received his B.A. (Hons.) from Queen’s University in 2005 (where he medaled); his J.D. (with honours) from the University of Toronto in 2008; and a Certificate in Pension Law from Osgoode Hall Law School in 2011.

 WORKSHOP 9:  FLEXIBLE BENEFITS: MEDICAL SAVINGS ACCOUNTS, PAID TIME OFF AND OTHER TAX-PREFERRED, NON-PENSION BENEFITS

What benefits are provided to employees outside of pension and superannuation? This workshop will consider how various jurisdictions approach the provision of addition work related benefits to employees. How common are such benefits? What are the implications of making additional benefits available to employees? Tax and regulatory issues will be addressed.

Thank you to Anne Corbett for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Anne Corbett (Canada), Dan Brandenburg (USA), Michael Beatty (Australia), Randy Bauslaugh (Canada), Sheena McCaffrey (UK)

Randy Bauslaugh (Canada): Randy is located in Toronto and is the National Practice Leader for Pensions & Employment Benefits at McCarthy Tétrault, LLP. Randy is also an expert professional trustee appointed jointly by the Ontario Government and the provincial association of English catholic school boards to be a trustee of the Ontario English Catholic Teacher’s Association Employee Life and Health Trust (OECTA ELHT). The OECTA ELHT is the largest health and welfare plan in Canada with approximately 50,000 active members and 130,000 dependent beneficiaries.

Dan Brandenburg (USA): Clients seek Dan Brandenburg for his extensive experience in and knowledge of pension and welfare benefit plans, executive compensation (including plans for tax-exempt organizations) and executive employment matters. He also has substantial experience with association-sponsored, member service programs. Dan represents clients regularly before the Internal Revenue Service, the U.S. Department of Labor and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. He has particular expertise in aiding clients with voluntary compliance programs of the IRS and DOL, and in responding to audits and investigations initiated by IRS, DOL and PBGC. Dan's practice also includes advising clients on the Affordable Care Act, corporate governance, international employee benefits, and labor and employment law as well as tax matters. Prior to joining The Wagner Law Group, Dan was a partner at one leading law firm in Washington, D.C., and served as the managing partner at another leading Washington, D.C. firm.

Michael Beatty (Australia): Michael is currently employed within Group Product for One Path Life Insurance Company in Sydney, Australia. Michael previously worked as senior legal counsel at the Financial Services Council in Sydney, Australia. Michael has worked in the pensions and employee benefits field within banking, insurance, consulting and regulatory roles within Canada, Bermuda, the U.K and Australia. He is a long standing (2007) member of IPEBLA and a member of the Steering Committee and has contributed to conferences, the journal, and the Bermuda chapter of the IPEBLA Comparative Survey.

Sheena McCaffrey (UK): Sheena McCaffrey is Special Counsel at Baker Botts (UK) LLP where she advises on employment and benefit issues, including employment and benefit terms and policies; restructuring and compliance issues and issues arising on acquisitions and disposals both domestic and in multi-national transactions.

 WORKSHOP 11:  PENSION PLAN DE-RISKING: TRENDS AND STRATEGIES

“De-risking” has become one of the most frequently heard phrases when it comes to talking about pension plans. De-risking, though, means different things to different people.  For some, it might refer simply to the annuitization of plan liabilities. For others, the term encompasses a broad range of risk management issues ranging from plan funding and investment through to overall plan governance.  This workshop will present a variety of perspectives on pension plan de-risking by speakers from Canada, the U.S., and Europe. 

Thank you to Michael Wolpert for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Carol Weiser (USA), Koen VanDuyse (Belgium), Michael Wolpert, (Canada), Paul Owens (Canada)

 WORKSHOP 12:  IPEBLA EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION – STOCK OPTIONS AND OTHER EQUITY INCENTIVES

We will discuss the prevalence of equity related and shareholding plans in the relevant jurisdictions and will provide information on recent legislative changes affecting such plans. We will refer to applicable tax and administrative rules and requirements that may affect the popularity of these schemes and will also offer some thoughts and insights regarding possible future legislative modifications.

Thank you to Natalie Bussiere for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Natalie Brussiere (Canada), Sarah De Wilde (Belgium), Stephanie Le Men-Tenailleau (France)

 PLENARY 2:  IPEBLA 2.0 - Decumulation Phase of Pension and Savings

Thank you to Cathy Smith and Francisco de Mederios Corderios for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Professor Jorge Bravo (Portugal), Dr Armindo Silva (Portugal)

Dr Armindo Silva (Portugal): Armindo Silva works as a free-lance consultant on social policy and European Affairs. He retired from the European Commission in 2015 and lives presently in Lisbon. Between 2007 and 2015 he was responsible for the Directorate ‘Employment and Social Legislation, Social Dialogue’ in the Directorate General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion (DG EMPL). In that position he has carried out management, representation and policy supervision tasks in the areas of EU social dialogue, labour law, health and safety legislation and free movement of workers including the coordination of social security systems. He started his career in the European Commission in 1988, having held various middle management positions in the areas of industrial affairs, employment policy and social protection. Armindo Silva was born in Lisbon, on the 1st October 1950. He holds a degree in Economics by the Instituto Superior de Economia (presently ISEG), an MA in Contemporary European Studies and a PhD in Economics by the University of Reading. Previously to his appointment to the Commission, he was Auxiliary Professor at ISEG and taught European Studies at the Law faculty of the University of Coimbra.

Professor Jorge Bravo (Portugal): Professor of Finance & Economics at NOVA Information Management School (IMS-) Universidade Nova d Lisboa and Invited Professor at Université Paris-Dauphine in Paris, France. He holds a PhD and Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Economics from University of Évora and a Master of Science (MSc) in Monetary in Financial Economics from ISEG Technical University of Lisbon. He is the Director of the Postgraduate Programs in Financial Markets and Risks and Data Science for Finance and is Co-Director of the Master’s Program in Law and Financial Markets at NOVA IMS & NOVA Law School. He is an Integrated Member of NOVA IMS’ Information Management Research Center and an integrated member of Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) Pensions Institute Scientific Experts Forum in Madrid, Spain. Professor Bravo coordinates the Observatory of Biometric Risks of the Portuguese Life Insured Population ORBio ) and the Portuguese Insurers Association (APS.) He integrated Joined) as an external member the Inter-ministerial Commission for the Reform of the Social Security System in Portugal. He also works as scientific consultant for national & international public (such as the Ministry of Finance; Ministry of Labour & Social Security; Statistics Portugal) and private institutions (such as Insurance Companies, Pension Funds Association, Social Benefits Issuers Association, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation,...) on research topics such as the Ageing population & pension system reform, the sustainability of social policies, macroeconomic & social impact of social policy, developing new financial solutions for the decumulation phase of pensions, hedging longevity & dependency risks at retirement.

 WORKSHOP 13:   IPBELA 2.0  – THE RETIREMENT ADEQUACY DILEMMA. IS THE “SYSTEM” DOING ENOUGH? DO INDIVDIUALS NEED TO DO MORE? IS DC THE ANSWER?

Be it resolved: individual account based DC arrangements are the most appropriate workplace and state retirement income security vehicles. Arguing For the proposition: Bill Wright (USA) and Mark Grant (UK). Arguing Against: Evan Howard (Canada) and David Webber (USA). This promises to be a lively, bare-knuckle debate you will not want to miss. Moderated by Randy Bauslaugh (Canada)

Thank you to Randy Bauslaugh for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Bill Wright (USA), Evan Howard (Canada), David Webber (USA), Mark Grant (UK), Randy Bauslaugh (Canada)

Randy Bauslaugh (Canada): Randy is located in Toronto and is the National Practice Leader for Pensions & Employment Benefits at McCarthy Tétrault, LLP. Randy is also an expert professional trustee appointed jointly by the Ontario Government and the provincial association of English catholic school boards to be a trustee of the Ontario English Catholic Teacher’s Association Employee Life and Health Trust (OECTA ELHT). The OECTA ELHT is the largest health and welfare plan in Canada with approximately 50,000 active members and 130,000 dependent beneficiaries.

William Wright (USA): Bill Wright is a partner in the Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. offices of Fisher Phillips and is the chair of the firm's International Employment Practice Group. He counsels employers on various global employment, compensation and benefit issues related to employees abroad, as well as foreign nationals working in the U.S. and the employment of U.S. permanent residents and citizens abroad. Bill has worked with compliance issues related to hiring, retention and separation of employees in a multitude of jurisdictions. His experience with global employment issues has helped him advise clients with international operations on all seven continents, including Antarctica. Bill has assisted clients with the implementation of strategic planning and policy development with respect to global HR practices and policies. He has handled the management of litigation and employment controversy matters in numerous international jurisdictions. Bill has also counseled clients based outside the United States with the special considerations that are required when complying with U.S. employment and employee benefit rules and regulations. Bill regularly addresses privacy and data protection compliance issues for clients with operations in both the U.S. and abroad.

David Webber (USA): David H. Webber is the author of The Rise of the Working-Class Shareholder: Labor’s Last Best Weapon, published by Harvard University Press in April 2018. Webber has toured extensively for the book, and has published op-eds about it in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, In These Times, and elsewhere. The book and related work have been covered in the Financial Times, Bloomberg Radio, CSPAN’s BookTV, Forbes, Nightly Business Report, NPR’s Marketplace, the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, Cornell University’s ILR Review, Rorotoko, de Volkskrant, Calcalist, the Majority Report with Sam Seder,the David Pakman Show, Knowledge@Wharton Business Radio, Splinter News, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and others. Webber co-edited a second book, Research Handbook on Representative Shareholder Litigation (Elgar), forthcoming this year. He has published scholarly articles including “The Use and Abuse of Labor’s Capital” in the New York University Law Review and “The Plight of the Individual Investor in Securities Class Actions” in the Northwestern University Law Review, with additional work forthcoming in the Vanderbilt Law Review and elsewhere. Webber has presented his research at the Harvard Stanford Yale Junior Faculty Forum, the Conference on Empirical Legal Studies, and the American Law and Economics Association conference, among others. Webber is the winner of Boston University School of Law’s 2017 Michael Melton Award for Teaching Excellence. He also co-teaches the Pensions and Capital Stewardship course for the Harvard Trade Union program at Harvard Law School. He is a graduate of Columbia and NYU Law School, where he was an editor for the law review.

Evan Howard (Canada): Evan Howard is General Counsel and Vice-President, Pension Management at the CAAT Pension Plan, a jointly-sponsored multi-employer pension plan that serves over 50 employers, including Ontario’s 24 colleges, the Royal Ontario Museum and the Ottawa Youth Services Bureau. Evan is responsible for pension policy development, governance and regulatory compliance, and oversees the Plan’s communication and public affairs groups. Prior to joining the CAAT Plan, Evan was a partner in the Toronto office of Norton Rose and before that a partner at Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt, practicing exclusively in the area of pension and benefits law, with a special focus on the pension and benefit issues in mergers and acquisitions, and corporate restructuring.

Mark Grant (UK): Mark is the head of the CMS Pensions Team in the UK. He has a broad pensions law practice, including litigation. He has a particular focus on the good governance of schemes and has written and spoken widely on the subject. He is the author of the only textbook devoted to the activities of the UK’s Pensions Ombudsman and helped to establish, and is Chair of, the Pensions Ombudsman’s Liaison. Mark was a member of the Association of Pension Lawyers Litigation Committee for 10 years and latterly was elected to serve on the APL’s Main Committee for 4 years. He was the joint editor of the IPEBLA’s Journal, its membership secretary and served for 4 years on IPEBLA’s Steering Committee. He has acted in many court cases all the way up to the European Court of Justice.

 WORKSHOP 14:  DEALING WITH PENSION LIABILITIES: A PRACTICAL GUIDE FOR FINANCIALLY STRESSED AND INSOLVENT EMPLOYERS

This workshop will focus on the following topics:

• Practical strategies to adopt and pitfalls to avoid when dealing with underfunded pension plans.
• Pension plan funding requirements (both ongoing and on wind-up).
• Different kinds of pension liabilities of an employer and the different approaches for dealing with those liabilities.
• Requirements for and consequences of terminating a plan/scheme
• Varying approaches to dealing with regulators
• Corporate governance prior to insolvency
• Possibility of being able to “reshape” pension benefits/possibility of relief from contribution obligations.

Thank you to Caroline Helbronner for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Caroline Helbronner (Canada), Eleanor Hart (UK), Hamish Dunlop (Canada), Harold Ashner (USA)

Hamish Dunlop (Canada): Hamish is a Managing Principal at Morneau Shepell in Toronto, responsible for a team that administers and winds up the pension plans of insolvent companies. He has been involved in many of the most high-profile wind ups in Canada, including Algoma Steel, Nortel and Sears. Prior to joining Morneau, Hamish was a vice-President at a major public sector pension plan and was Senior Policy Advisor on pension policy to the Ontario Ministry of Finance. He has been a frequent speaker pension insolvency, governance and ethics at IPEBLA, the Association of Canadian Pension Management and the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans. Hamish has a law degree from Osgoode Hall Law School and a Master’s of Business Administration from the University of Toronto.

Harold Ashner (USA): Harold Ashner is a partner in the law firm of Keightley & Ashner LLP, a nationally recognized boutique law firm practicing in a broad range of employee benefits areas, with a focus on all matters relating to the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation. He previously served as Assistant General Counsel for Legislation and Regulations at the PBGC, where he drafted or supervised virtually all regulations and policies issued by the PBGC from 1988 until he left the agency in early 2005, along with the PBGC’s General Counsel and Deputy General Counsel, to form Keightley & Ashner LLP. Harold is the author of several publications on PBGC-related matters, is a frequent speaker on such matters at professional conferences, is a Fellow and former Officer and Member of the Board of Governors of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, serves in various leadership roles in the American Bar Association, and is often quoted in the media. He is routinely retained by major law firms, actuarial consulting firms, investment banking firms, and employers of all sizes, including many Fortune 100 companies, to deal with PBGC-related issues.

Eleanor Hart (UK): Eleanor is a partner in Dentons’ London office. She is a member of the People, Reward and Mobility practice. Eleanor joined Slaughter and May as a trainee in 1998 and qualified in September 2000 into one of the corporate/M&A departments. She has specialized in pensions law since 2007. Eleanor advises on a broad variety of pension matters, both transactional and general advisory, acting for trustees and corporate sponsors. She has extensive experience advising clients on the pension and employment aspects of acquisitions and disposals (both UK and cross-border). She has been involved in numerous high-profile deals with complex pension aspects as well as innovative pension restructurings, including the first ever pensions deficit for equity swap. Eleanor is a member of the Association of Pension Lawyers and is currently on the Education and Seminars Committee.

 WORKSHOP 15:  PLAN FEES AND EXPENSES

In a pensions environment which is becoming predominantly DC by nature, and where investment returns may be less than in the past, the issue of plan fees and expenses is critically important. The problem is aggravated by higher compliance requirements. How can such fees and expenses be limited, and what role can we as pension lawyers play in this?

Thank you to Jonathan Mort for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Jonathan Mort (South Africa), Kevin Walsh (USA), Leanne Van Wyk (South Africa), Marco Artegea (Germany)

 WORKSHOP 16:  IPEBLA EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION - EXECUTIVE BENEFITS – WHAT IS MARKET? WHAT IS REGULATED? WHAT DO PROXY ADVISORY SERVICES (ISS/GLASS LEWIS) REQUIRE?

Thank you to Lynne Lacoursiere for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Lynne Lacoursiere (Canada), Narendra Acharya (USA)

 WORKSHOP 17:  IPEBLA 2.0 – THE PLAN FUNDING/SUSTAINABILITY DILEMMA. CAN RETIREMENT PLAN PROMISES BE BROKEN?"

Traditional pension plans are under stress in many developed nations, due to globalization, technological changes, longevity improvements, and volatility of investments, among other causes.  Sustainable retirement income is important not just to pensioners but to a nation’s economy generally, as retiree spending has a multiplier effect that creates jobs and tax revenue. 

Funding challenges include selecting appropriate demographic and economic assumptions and allocating costs and risks among present and future stakeholders -- employers, workers, retirees, and taxpayers at large.  How should the costs and risks be allocated among them, and what mechanisms are available?  

The pension promise may be protected by law, and in any case, breaking the promise is fraught with political, economic, and social ramifications.  What are the legal constraints, and what is the social contract?  How difficult or disruptive would it be to change them?  And what would be the social and economic effects of maintaining the status quo or changing the rules?        

Please join the discussion, led by expert panelists from Canada, the United States, the Netherlands and the UK.

Thank you to Izzy Goldowitz for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Izzy Goldowitz (USA), Susan Philpott (Canada), Louis Kuypers (Netherlands), Philip Bennett (UK)

Izzy Goldowitz (USA):  Izzy Goldowitz is a Partner with the Wagner Law Group, where he advises on employee benefits in mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, and bankruptcy, multiemployer plan administration and restructuring, new retirement savings platforms, and employee benefits legislation. Izzy served for 30 years with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, where he oversaw legislative and regulatory work, multiemployer plan and benefits advice, and bankruptcy, transactional, and litigation work. He began his career with the United Mine Workers of America Health of Retirement Funds. He has been on the brief in several Supreme Court cases, including Beck v. PACE Int’l Union, U.S. 2007 (termination and closeout of single-employer plan), Raleigh v. Illinois Dept. of Revenue, U.S. 2000 (choice of law in bankruptcy), and Concrete Pipe v. Construction Laborers Pension Trust, U.S.1993 (constitutionality of MPPAA), and has argued several cases in the courts of appeals. Izzy is an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he has taught Employee Benefits and Bankruptcy courses. He is a member of the John Marshall Law School Employee Benefits Advisory Board. He is a frequent speaker at Employee Benefits and Bankruptcy conferences, in the U.S. and abroad. His publications include chapters on Withdrawal Liability and Preemption/Removal in J. Zanglein, S. Stabile & L. Frolik, ERISA Litigation, and a chapter on Employee Benefits in Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice. He served on the Labor and Benefits Advisory Committee to the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Chapter 11 Reform Commission. Izzy is a Fellow and Board member of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, and a recipient of PBGC’s Distinguished Career Service Award and Georgetown’s Vicennial Award. He is a member of the International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law and Real Property, Trusts & Estates Sections. Izzy earned his B. A. from Boston University, and his J.D. from George Washington University.

Susan Philpott (Canada): Susan Philpott understands how important pensions and benefits are to the well-being of workers and their families. She has dedicated her career to it. Trade unions across the country rely on Sue to help them expand workplace pension and benefits coverage, bargain new pensions and benefits arrangements, and navigate through employer insolvencies and restructuring. She also helps pension plan trustees meet their legal obligations to plan members by providing first-rate strategic, governance, and legal and statutory compliance advice. Sue is a problem-solver by nature, often able to find quick and cost-effective solutions to complex disputes. Some of Sue’s high-profile work included the development of the National Hockey League players’ pension plan, the Nortel Networks Corporation and Target Canada insolvency proceedings, and the Air Canada insolvency and restructuring. In addition to being a former president of Canadian Association of Labour Lawyers, she is an appointed or elected member of the:

• National pension section executive of the Canadian Bar Association
• FSCO Legal Advisory Committee
• Actuarial Standards Oversight Council

Philip Bennett (UK): Philip is a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales (non practising). In December 2017 he retired from Slaughter and May after more than 30 years as a partner specialising in pensions law. His experience included advising on some of the largest scheme mergers and restructurings, repayments of surplus and management of deficit issues (including benefit design changes and consultations with employees and their representatives over these changes) and “employer covenant” support measures. Philip is listed as a leading individual in the Pensions section of Chambers UK, 2017 and in the Pensions Section Hall of Fame in The Legal 500 United Kingdom, 2017. Philip has been a member of a number of Pensions Europe working groups, including its Defined Benefit Working Group. He is a member of the International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association ("IPEBLA"), and a past chair of IPEBLA. He is a former member of the main Committee of the Association of Pension Lawyers (the “APL”) and a past Chairman of the APL's Legislative and Parliamentary Sub-Committee. He is also a former member of the International Sub-Committee of the Association of Pension Lawyers. During 2018, Philip has provided expert evidence to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee Consultation on CDC Schemes, appeared as an expert witness before that Committee (and his evidence is referred in more than 10% of the footnotes in the Select Committee’s Report published on 16th July, 2018). He has spoken at a number of conferences, both within the UK and overseas, on Collective Defined Contribution Pension Schemes, published a joint paper comparing Dutch Collective Defined Contribution Pension Schemes with UK Defined Benefit Schemes, and provided a response to the Department for Work and Pensions June 2018 Consultation on clarifying and strengthening trustees’ investment duties. More recently he has published an article, in Trust Law International (Volume 32, Part 4, 2019), on“ Must occupational pension schemes take into account ESG factors, even if there is a risk of financial detriment to the pension fund?” and responded to the UK Department of Work and Pensions public consultation on “ Delivering Collective Defined Contribution Pension Schemes”.

 WORKSHOP 18:  OOPS WE DID IT AGAIN - COMMON MISTAKES IN PLAN ADMINISTRATION 

The administration of a retirement plan in any jurisdiction is a complicated endeavor that requires adherence to complex sets of rules and the delivery of proper benefits to participants and beneficiaries. Despite best efforts, perfection is impossible, and mistakes will happen. What is a plan sponsor, plan administrator or trustee to do? This workshop will analyze five common errors that retirement plans routinely face and corrective approaches in Belgium, Germany and the United States. The session will also discuss liability that can be associated with plan mistakes and risk mitigation strategies for plan sponsors and administrators.

Thank you to Carolyn Trenda for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: An VanDamme (Belgium), Carolyn Trenda (USA), Dirk Kruip (Germany)

Carolyn Trenda (USA): Carolyn Trenda is a Senior Counsel in the Chicago office of McGuireWoods LLP.  Carolyn regularly advises public, private and non-profit employers on a range of employee benefits topics. She designs and assists clients with the ongoing administration of tax-qualified retirement plans including defined benefit pension plans, 401(k) plans, 403(b) plans, 457 deferred compensation plans, profit sharing plans and employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs). She routinely helps clients with health and welfare plan matters including plan design and COBRA and HIPAA related questions. She also works with employers to establish and maintain non-qualified, stock option and fringe benefit plans. She often advises employers on employee benefits matters during mergers and acquisitions, including issues related to the compensation and benefits of transferred and terminated employees. She routinely obtains rulings and determinations from the IRS, the U.S. Department of Labor and other government agencies and guides clients through agency audits and the use of government sponsored compliance and correction programs. Carolyn also counsels employers and employee benefit plan committees on ERISA fiduciary obligations. She frequently publishes articles and speaks on a variety of employee benefits subjects. Carolyn is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and the University of Notre Dame Law School, including the Concannon Program of International Law.

 WORKSHOP 19:  PLAN INVESTMENTS: FIDUCIARY OBLIGATIONS AND THE CHALLENGE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

Pension fund fiduciaries are facing climate change challenges in at least two areas. The Financial Stability Board's Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures has set in motion a series of developments related to corporate disclosure of the climate related consequences of their operations. Those disclosure requirements are important to investors' capacity to measure and monitor the climate related impacts of the companies in which they invest. They will also help investors assess the climate risks embedded in those investments as well as the efficacy of companies' carbon emission reduction strategies. Institutional investors can influence the development of these disclosure requirements in many ways, including through their proxy votes. Second, the economic transition required to keep the global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees (Celsius) is truly enormous, and must commence immediately. How will pension funds meet this investment challenge, and how should pension leaders understand their fiduciary obligation when assessing climate related investment risks and opportunities?

Thank you to Murray Gold for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Dana Muir (USA), Karen Quinlan (South Africa), Murray Gold (Canada)

Dana Muir (USA): Professor Dana M. Muir, JD, MBA, is Robert L. Dixon Collegiate Professor of Business and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Business Law at the University of Michigan’s Stephen M. Ross School of Business. She has published extensively on and is a nationally recognized expert on fiduciary and remedial issues especially in the fields of investments, governance, and pensions. Professor Muir’s research has been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court, she is a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel and a member of its Board of Governors. She was a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Insurance and Asset Management and is a past Editor-in-Chief of the annual supplements to Employee Benefits Law. She has been active in a variety of government-related policy roles, including on the Employee Benefits Security Administration's Advisory Council and the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation’s Advisory Committee.

Murray Gold (Canada): Murray Gold a senior Partner in the pension and benefits practice at Koskie Minsky LLP. Murray advises governing boards of public sector and jointly trusteed pension and benefits plans across Canada in regard to compliance and best-practice issues. He counsels the fiduciary boards of public and private sector pension and benefits plans. He has led governance and financial restructurings of major public sector pension and benefits arrangements in Ontario, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Alberta, and represents a range of plan sponsors, retiree groups and active members in the education, public, healthcare and multi-employer sectors, including in regard to major insolvencies. In 2009 – 2010, he led Koskie Minsky’s team in establishing Canada’s first funded postretirement health care trust in the auto sector. He worked with stakeholders to create the tax and governance framework for Canada's first Employee Life and Health Trust. He has since coordinated Koskie Minsky's teams and worked closely with stakeholders in the governance and financial restructuring of health benefits arrangements in Ontario's education sector and British Columbia's health sector. Murray Gold is a Fellow of the Ontario Teachers’ Federation, an honor in recognition of his work in regard to the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Murray Gold graduated from Harvard University with an A.B. in 1981 and from the University of Toronto Law School in 1984. Murray was Koskie Minsky's Managing Partner for two terms, from 2012 to 2016.

 WORKSHOP 20:  IPEBLA EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION –  PERFORMANCE BASED COMPENSATION AND RETENTION PROGRAMS

Performance Based Compensation and Retention Programs for Executives and Employees in the US, Belgium and Germany: This panel will explore some of the key considerations when planning and implementing compensation components which are linked to a variable determination basis such as achievement of company goals and/or individual targets as well as retention arrangements for executives and (key) employees. The panel will focus on legal thresholds and key items of such incentive schemes as well as “lessons learned” for each jurisdiction.

Thank you to Peter Wehner for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Victoria Zerjav (USA), Nicolas Tancredi (Belgium), Peter Wehner (Germany)

Nicolas Tancredi (Belgium): After more than 8 years within the “Tax & Legal” department of Deloitte, Nicolas Tancredi joined the Brussel’s bar in 2013. Nicolas is Partner at Younity since April 2017. Nicolas advises companies and executives in tax, labour and social security law. He has a particular interest in all issues related to international mobility of executives and income tax aspects of compensation and benefits of workers, executives and directors. He is the author of several articles and books on individual taxation and international mobility and regularly participates to seminars on these topics. Nicolas holds a law degree from the University of Louvain (Université Catholique de Louvain, 2001) and a master degree in tax law from the University of Leuven (Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, 2004).

Victoria Zerjav (USA): provides sophisticated client counseling as an executive compensation and employee benefits attorney from Stamford and New York City. She has extensive experience in executive compensation, employee benefits and employee relations, including in connection with mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions. Fortune 1000 companies, private equity-backed businesses and venture capital entities seek her counsel with respect to complex employee benefit plan and compensation issues. Keenly aware of clients’ business goals, Ms. Zerjav is praised for her pivotal role in identifying and resolving concerns in advance of a transaction's next steps and integrating employees and benefits post-transaction and aligning these plans with their overall business strategies. She counsels management and boards in corporate governance and designing effective compensation arrangements, and counsels individual executives on compensation-related concerns that arise before, during and after employment relationships. Management teams, shareholders, investment and compensation committees, and HR professionals reach out to Ms. Zerjav for understanding and complying with the many requirements and regulations under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, securities laws, and other concerns that affect their equity, pension, and health and welfare plans. She is well-versed in analyzing and designing incentive plans, deferred compensation plans, supplemental executive retirement plans, and golden parachute concerns. Ms. Zerjav guides clients with high-quality, tailored solutions regarding the intricate issues relating to mergers, acquisitions and other transactions. Buyers and sellers in a merger, acquisition or divestiture will seek Ms. Zerjav’s guidance in protecting benefit plans, executives, and employees before and after an acquisition, avoiding unwanted liabilities, retaining key employees and transitioning benefit plans., addressing both costs and administrative burdens relating to integration – along with other “hot button” concerns –in a holistic manner.

Peter Wehner (Germany): Peter is a Counsel at Allen & Overy LLP’s office in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. Peter advises on all individual and collective employment law issues. A particular focus of his work is pensions, in which he advises on the design, implementation and modification of pension schemes. His clients benefit from his extensive experience in this field. Efficiently structured pension systems represent a decisive advantage both in the transaction environment and in day-to-day administration – regardless of whether this involves structural considerations in transactions, the replacement or reorganisation of pension systems or the spin-off and financing of pension liabilities. Peter is characterised by a high level of entrepreneurial thinking and thus offers his clients genuine added value from day one. In addition, he advises in particular on the employment law aspects of company acquisitions, IPOs and restructurings and represents clients in employment and pensions disputes. As a member of the International Pension & Employee Benefits Lawyers Association (IPEBLA) (Steering Committee) and of the German Working Group for Occupational Pensions (Arbeitsgemeinschaft für betriebliche Altersversorgung e.V. – aba), Peter is always up-to-date regarding current topics and is actively involved in shaping the latest trends in the field of pensions. He is an extremely sought-after and esteemed speaker and seminar leader on topics from the fields of employment, pensions and benefits, for example as a lecturer at the SRH University in Heidelberg.

 LUNCH PRESENTATION:  THE RISE OF THE WORKING CLASS SHAREHOLDER

Thank you to Randy Bauslaugh for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADER: David Webber (USA)

David Webber (USA): David H. Webber is the author of The Rise of the Working-Class Shareholder: Labor’s Last Best Weapon, published by Harvard University Press in April 2018. Webber has toured extensively for the book, and has published op-eds about it in the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, In These Times, and elsewhere. The book and related work have been covered in the Financial Times, Bloomberg Radio, CSPAN’s BookTV, Forbes, Nightly Business Report, NPR’s Marketplace, the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation, Cornell University’s ILR Review, Rorotoko, de Volkskrant, Calcalist, the Majority Report with Sam Seder,the David Pakman Show, Knowledge@Wharton Business Radio, Splinter News, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, and others. Webber co-edited a second book, Research Handbook on Representative Shareholder Litigation (Elgar), forthcoming this year. He has published scholarly articles including “The Use and Abuse of Labor’s Capital” in the New York University Law Review and “The Plight of the Individual Investor in Securities Class Actions” in the Northwestern University Law Review, with additional work forthcoming in the Vanderbilt Law Review and elsewhere. Webber has presented his research at the Harvard Stanford Yale Junior Faculty Forum, the Conference on Empirical Legal Studies, and the American Law and Economics Association conference, among others. Webber is the winner of Boston University School of Law’s 2017 Michael Melton Award for Teaching Excellence. He also co-teaches the Pensions and Capital Stewardship course for the Harvard Trade Union program at Harvard Law School. He is a graduate of Columbia and NYU Law School, where he was an editor for the law review.

 WORKSHOP 21:  IPEBLA 2.0 – GLOBAL POLITICS AND THE IMPACT ON   PENSION AND BENEFIT PLANS.  DO CHANGES IN THE EU (E.G. BREXIT)   OR OTHER MULTINATIONAL INITIATIVES SIGNAL ANY IMPACT ON   RETIREMENT OR BENEFITS POLICY? 

• The great British empire versus the Netherlands First. Will Brexit make a difference? 
• From 1991 to 2019: Is the IORP II Directive just another failed attempt to unify the social and fiscal pension systems in the EU Member States
• Barbarians at the gate and Made in China. What is the influence of an acquisition by a foreign company?

Thank you to Co-Chairs for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Rosalind Connor (UK), Wijnanda Rutten (Netherlands)

 WORKSHOP 22:  PUBLIC/PRIVATE HEALTH CARE: EMPLOYER I INVOLVEMENT IN PROVIDING HEALTH CARE AND THE COST OF HEALTH CARE

Employee health care directly impacts all employers, but employer involvement in employees’ health varies widely across the globe.  Panelists from the U.S., Canada, France and the Netherlands will discuss how employers in their jurisdictions address employee health care issues, from the U.S. system of employer-sponsored health care to private “add-on” options offered in other countries.  The panel will also address the new wave of “wellness” programs and how those programs are viewed by government regulators.  

Thank you to Finn Pressly for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Anne Corbett (Canada), Catherine Millet-Ursin (France), Finn Pressly (USA), Laurie Kuijpers (Netherlands), Rachel Levy (USA)

 WORKSHOP 23:  WHO IS THE EMPLOYER? PENSION AND BENEFIT PLANS AND CONTROL GROUP ISSUES FROM MULTINATIONAL TO PORTFOLIO COMPANIES

Parties other than the direct “employer” can be exposed to the pension obligations of subsidiaries or other affiliates.  Liability may arise under statute, by contract, or under judge-made law, and can apply to periodic funding and to employer withdrawal or plan windup.   The obligations may arise by operation of law, and they may be enforced by private parties, or they may result from regulators’ exercise of “moral hazard” powers.  Liability may attach not only to current affiliates but to predecessor or successor entities.  The distinction between stock or asset sales may be relevant, though it may be overridden by avoidance powers.  General corporate, creditors’ rights, and insolvency theories may also be relevant.  Finally, extra-corporate liability may apply to foreign entities, though obtaining jurisdiction and enforcing a judgment may be problematic.Please join the discussion, led by expert panelists from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, as we survey this area and highlight recent developments.

Thank you to Izzy Goldowitz for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS:  David Pollard (UK), Izzy Goldowitz (USA), Paul Litner (Canada), Victoria Zerjav (USA)

David Pollard (UK):  David Pollard is a barrister practising the law of England and Wales from Wilberforce Chambers in Lincoln’s Inn in London, having been called to the bar in November 2017.  He was previously a solicitor and (for 25 years) a partner in Freshfields, practising pensions, employment and insolvency law.  David practiced English law with Freshfields for three years in Singapore in the 1980s. David’s books include: The Law of Pension Trusts (Oxford University Press, 2013), Corporate Insolvency: Pension Rights and Corporate Insolvency: Employment Rights (6th eds, December 2016, Bloomsbury Professional), Employment Law and Pensions (Bloomsbury Professional, 2016) and Freshfields on Corporate Pensions Law (editor and main author) – annual editions from 2012 to 2015 (Bloomsbury Professional). David is a past chair of the UK Association of Pension Lawyers (APL) and is an editor of the quarterly journal, Trust Law International. David’s recent major articles and papers include: Control of discretions: Braganza - The new Donoghue v Stephenson (APL Summer Conference 2018), The Short-form 'Best Interests Duty' - Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know (2018) 32 TLI 106 & 176, Exercising Powers: Proper Purposes rather than Best Interests: Fiduciaries and Eclairs (2016) 30 TLI 71 & 159, Defective appointment of trustees and the extent of ratification (Edward Nugee Memorial Lectures, June 2018).

Izzy Goldowitz (USA):  Izzy Goldowitz is a Partner with the Wagner Law Group, where he advises on employee benefits in mergers and acquisitions, restructuring, and bankruptcy, multiemployer plan administration and restructuring, new retirement savings platforms, and employee benefits legislation. Izzy served for 30 years with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, where he oversaw legislative and regulatory work, multiemployer plan and benefits advice, and bankruptcy, transactional, and litigation work. He began his career with the United Mine Workers of America Health of Retirement Funds. He has been on the brief in several Supreme Court cases, including Beck v. PACE Int’l Union, U.S. 2007 (termination and closeout of single-employer plan), Raleigh v. Illinois Dept. of Revenue, U.S. 2000 (choice of law in bankruptcy), and Concrete Pipe v. Construction Laborers Pension Trust, U.S.1993 (constitutionality of MPPAA), and has argued several cases in the courts of appeals. Izzy is an Adjunct Professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he has taught Employee Benefits and Bankruptcy courses. He is a member of the John Marshall Law School Employee Benefits Advisory Board. He is a frequent speaker at Employee Benefits and Bankruptcy conferences, in the U.S. and abroad. His publications include chapters on Withdrawal Liability and Preemption/Removal in J. Zanglein, S. Stabile & L. Frolik, ERISA Litigation, and a chapter on Employee Benefits in Norton Bankruptcy Law and Practice. He served on the Labor and Benefits Advisory Committee to the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Chapter 11 Reform Commission. Izzy is a Fellow and Board member of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel, and a recipient of PBGC’s Distinguished Career Service Award and Georgetown’s Vicennial Award. He is a member of the International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association, the American Bankruptcy Institute, and the American Bar Association Labor and Employment Law and Real Property, Trusts & Estates Sections. Izzy earned his B. A. from Boston University, and his J.D. from George Washington University.

Victoria Zerjav (USA):  provides sophisticated client counseling as an executive compensation and employee benefits attorney from  Stamford and New York City. She has extensive experience in executive compensation, employee benefits and employee relations, including in connection with mergers and acquisitions and other strategic transactions. Fortune 1000 companies, private equity-backed businesses and venture capital entities seek her counsel with respect to complex employee benefit plan and compensation issues. Keenly aware of clients’ business goals, Ms. Zerjav is praised for her pivotal role in identifying and resolving concerns in advance of a transaction's next steps and integrating employees and benefits post-transaction and aligning these plans with their overall business strategies. She counsels management and boards in corporate governance and designing effective compensation arrangements, and counsels individual executives on compensation-related concerns that arise before, during and after employment relationships. Management teams, shareholders, investment and compensation committees, and HR professionals reach out to Ms. Zerjav for understanding and complying with the many requirements and regulations under ERISA, the Internal Revenue Code, securities laws, and other concerns that affect their equity, pension, and health and welfare plans. She is well-versed in analyzing and designing incentive plans, deferred compensation plans, supplemental executive retirement plans, and golden parachute concerns. Ms. Zerjav guides clients with high-quality, tailored solutions regarding the intricate issues relating to mergers, acquisitions and other transactions.  Buyers and sellers in a merger, acquisition or divestiture will seek Ms. Zerjav’s guidance in protecting benefit plans, executives, and employees before and after an acquisition, avoiding unwanted liabilities, retaining key employees and transitioning benefit plans., addressing both costs and administrative burdens relating to integration – along with other “hot button” concerns –in a holistic manner. 

Paul Litner (Canada): Mr. Litner is the Chair of the firm’s National Pensions & Benefits department. He regularly advises public and private sector organizations on a variety of legal and compliance issues in relation to their pension and employee benefit plans. Paul has extensive experience advising in the areas of: plan design and funding, fiduciary responsibilities, governance, administration, changes to benefits, pension litigation, pension fund investments, plan wind-ups, surplus utilization and the pension/benefits aspects of corporate transactions. Paul has been repeatedly recognized as a leading practitioner in pension and benefits law in The Canadian Legal Lexpert Directory and received the Lexpert Zenith Award in 2018. He has also been repeatedly recognized as an expert in pension and benefits law in The Best Lawyers in Canada, Chambers Global Guide to the World’s Leading Lawyers (Band 1), The Legal 500 and Who’s Who Legal. Paul was a member of Ontario’s Financial Services Tribunal from 2002 through 2010. Mr. Litner has published numerous articles for industry publications, including International Pension Lawyer and Benefits Canada, on a variety of pension/benefits subjects. He is also a regular lecturer at continuing education and pension industry programmes, including the CCCA, the CPBI, the ACPM and IFEBP conferences. Paul was also a consulting editor of Lancaster House’s Pension & Benefits E-bulletin from its inception in 2004 until 2010. Paul is an active participant in the pension industry, having previously served the Chair of the ACPM’s National Policy Committee. In 2013 Paul was the recipient of the ACPM’s award for exceptional volunteerism. In 2017 he was named Lawyer of the Year in the area of Employee Benefits Law by The Best Lawyers in Canada.

 PLENARY 3:  DATA PRIVACY AND THE ERA OF GDPR - THREE KEY ISSUES FOR PENSION AND BENEFIT LAWYERS: WHO KNOWS WHAT ABOUT WHOM, WHAT INFORMATION NEEDS TO BE PROTECTED AND HOW, WHO CAN DISCLOSE INFORMATION AND WHAT CAN THEY DISCLOSE

Thank you to David Powell for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Thomas Granetzny (Germany), Chris Bollard (Ireland)

Thomas Granetzny (Germany):Thomas is a Principal Associate in the People and Reward group in Düsseldorf. He is a specialist on pension issues, in particular in connection with complex M&A transactions and restructurings. He acts for corporations and pension funds, in particular in the context of transactions. In this respect he has advised on various employment and pension matters, including the transfer and carve-out of pension liabilities. In addition, he frequently represents clients in labor and pension disputes in court proceedings, including before the Federal Labor Court in Germany. Thomas Granetzny regularly lectures and publishes in legal journals on a variety of company pensions issues. Further, he is a co-author of one of the leading employment law commentaries on company pensions in Germany.

 WORKSHOP 25:  IPEBLA 2.0 – SOLELY IN THE INTEREST OF PLAN PARTICIPANTS AND BENEFICIARIES: FIDUCIARY/TRUSTEE BEST PRACTICES VS. TALES OF LESS THAN PERFECT BEHAVIOUR 

Thank you to Co-Chairs for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: David Pollard (UK), Ian Pendleton (Australia)

Ian Pendleton (Australia):Ian Pendleton has worked in pension law and regulation for over 25 years, commencing with the federal regulator, the Insurance and Superannuation Commission in the early 1990’s before moving into an in-house legal team at Perpetual Limited, a leading retail provider of financial services. Ian joined First State Super in 2012 as General Counsel and Company Secretary. Ian leads a busy in-house legal and company secretariat team who provide legal support across a broad range of legal and governance issues to the First State Group. The First State Group currently has more than $95bn in funds under management and 800,000 members. Ian has degrees in Arts and Law, is a GAICD and has been a member of the Superannuation Committee of the Law Council of Australia in 2013 and is currently its secretary.

 WORKSHOP 26:  HOW TECHNOLOGY IS CHANGING PARTICIPANT ENGAGEMENT: MISSING PARTICIPANTS AND PARTICIPANT COMMUNICATIONS 

During this workshop, we will explore how technology has changed the way in which pension funds generally engage and communicate with participants and how it is likely to change and improve in future. We also consider the way in which missing participants are treated. We will identify various groups of missing participants and discuss how pension administrators track missing participants. We will discuss what pension administrators can or must to do with unpaid retirement benefits of missing participants. Obviously, we will compare the relevant similarities and differences between South Africa and the Netherlands, as much as possible  

Thank you to Bas Dielman for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Andrea Boctor (Canada), Bas Dieleman (Netherlands), Kobus Hanekom (South Africa)

Bas Dieleman (Netherlands):  Bas Dieleman is a tax and pension adviser at Dutch law firm Loyens & Loeff N.V. He is a member of the Employment & Benefits practice group and a member of the Pensions & Pension Funds team of Loyens & Loeff. He is advising pension funds and employers regarding the adjustment of pension schemes, the liquidation of pension administrators, the valuation of pension obligations, pension related aspects of mergers and acquisitions and international aspects of pensions of high net worth individuals. Bas has obtained his PhD at the Erasmus University Rotterdam in 2012. The subject of this PhD thesis is the valuation of pensions. He has also written dozens of pension related scientific articles. He is part of the management of the pension section of the Dutch Order of Tax Advisors (NOB and he is a frequent speaker at universities, seminars and congresses in the Netherlands and abroad.

Kobus Hanekom (South Africa):  Kobus is the principal officer of the Sanlam Umbrella Fund. He qualified as a Chartered Principal Executive Officer in 2017. In 1983 he was admitted as an attorney, notary and conveyancer after completing the B.Iur. and LL.B. degrees. Kobus is a Certified Financial Planner and served on the board of the Financial Planning Institute. He is a founding member of the Pension Lawyers Association of South Africa and served as president for the first two years. He also served on the Steering Committee of the International Pension and Employee Benefit Lawyers Association (IPEBLA). He was Secretary of the Pensions Legal and Technical Committees of both the Life Offices Association and the Institute of Retirement Funds for many years. He is a regular speaker at conferences and workshops. He authored The Manual on South African Retirement Funds, currently in its 24th edition, which is required or recommended reading for many industry courses and lectured the pension subjects in the Post Graduate Diploma in Financial Management offered by the University of Stellenbosch. Kobus was the head of strategy, governance and compliance at Simeka Consultants & Actuaries and served as a core member of the Sanlam Benchmark Survey team for many years. Kobus is a Director of the Batseta, Council for Retirement Funds of South Africa.

Andrea Boctor (Canada):Andrea Boctor is a partner practising in the Toronto office of Stikeman Elliott LLP and is head of the firm’s National Pensions and Benefits Practice Group. She advises clients in all areas of the firm’s pensions and benefits practice, with particular emphasis on pension issues in the context of mergers and acquisitions and bankruptcy and insolvency. Andrea is recognized in Chambers Global, Chambers Canada, Lexpert and Best Lawyers for her expertise in pensions & benefits law. Andrea is the editor of Canadian Cases on Pensions and Benefits and co-editor of Pension Benefits Law in Ontario. She writes and speaks extensively on pensions-related issues, is an adjunct professor at Queens’ University Law School teaching a course on pension law, and is a guest lecturer on pension issues at the University of Toronto and Osgoode Professional Development.

 WORKSHOP 27:  THE EVOLUTION OF SHARED RISK AND TARGET BENEFIT PLAN 

With defined benefit (DB) plans in decline due to affordability and sustainability concerns, and defined contribution (DC) plans facing their own issues such as longevity and investment risks as they mature, can the two evolve to create pension plans that survive and thrive into the future? Is evolution to a plan design that has both DB and DC features the answer in order to ensure pension plans remain a viable way of delivering retirement benefits in the modern workplace? This panel will discuss examples of Target Benefit plan design in three jurisdictions.

Thank you to Angela Mazerolle for coordinating this session

DISCUSSION LEADERS: Angela Mazerolle (Canada), Philip Bennett (UK), Robert Neis (USA), Conrad Ferguson (Canada)

Angela Mazerolle (Canada): Angela is the Superintendent of Pensions, the Superintendent of Insurance, and the Director of Pensions and Insurance for the Financial and Consumer Services Commission (New Brunswick). As Superintendent, she is responsible for the administration and enforcement of the New Brunswick Pension Benefits Act and the New Brunswick Insurance Act. Angela has been involved for the past seventeen years in both the regulation of pension plans and policy development through her work as the Director of Pensions and Insurance Angela frequently shares her expertise about pension regulation and the New Brunswick shared risk model at various national and international conferences including the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS) meetings.  She also speaks frequently at insurance industry events. Angela is the Vice Chair of the Canadian Association of Pension Supervisory Authorities (CAPSA), an inter-jurisdictional association of pension regulators whose mission is to facilitate an efficient and effective pension regulatory system in Canada. She is also a member and Vice Chair of the General Insurance Statistical Agency (GISA), and an active member of the International Organisation of Pension Supervisors (IOPS), the Canadian Council of Insurance Regulators (CCIR), the Canadian Insurance Services Regulatory Organizations (CISRO), the Joint Forum of Financial Market Regulators, the International Pension & Employee Benefits Lawyers Association (IPEBLA), the Canadian Bar Association, and the Law Society of New Brunswick. Angela received her Bachelor of Commerce degree (Honours - Economics) from Mount Allison University and her Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Alberta.

Conrad Ferguson (Canada): Conrad Ferguson is a vice-president in the Fredericton office of Morneau Shepell. He has over 40 years of experience in the insurance and pension industry in Canada. Conrad has provided advice to public sector pension programs in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island over the past 30 years. These include public service, teachers, school boards, hospitals and nursing homes pension plans.  His principal activities are consulting in areas of pension plan funding and design. He was involved in several pension review projects over his career including the 2014 review of the New Brunswick Teachers Pension Plan. He was extensively involved providing actuarial support to the New Brunswick Task Force on Pensions in 2012, which culminated with the introduction of the New Brunswick Shared Risk Pension model.  He also works with many workers compensation organizations across Canada in areas of funding, valuation of liabilities and other risk management activities. Conrad has served on many Canadian Institute of Actuaries committees and task forces over the years and received the 30 year of service award from the CIA in 2017Hwe previously served as a member the Practice Standards Council and the Committee on Professional Conduct. He currently serves on the Actuarial Standards Board for Canada. Conrad has made numerous presentations on pension and workers’ compensation topics over the years at CPBI, IF, AWCBC and CIA meetings over the past 30 years.  He is a Fellow of the Canadian Institute of Actuaries, the Society of Actuaries and the Life Management Institute and holds a Bachelor of Science degree with Honours in Statistics from the University of New Brunswick.

Philip Bennett (UK): Philip is a solicitor of the Senior Courts of England and Wales (non practising). In December 2017 he retired from Slaughter and May after more than 30 years as a partner specialising in pensions law. His experience included advising on some of the largest scheme mergers and restructurings, repayments of surplus and management of deficit issues (including benefit design changes and consultations with employees and their representatives over these changes) and “employer covenant” support measures. Philip is listed as a leading individual in the Pensions section of Chambers UK, 2017 and in the Pensions Section Hall of Fame in The Legal 500 United Kingdom, 2017. Philip has been a member of a number of Pensions Europe working groups, including its Defined Benefit Working Group. He is a member of the International Pension and Employee Benefits Lawyers Association ("IPEBLA"), and a past chair of IPEBLA. He is a former member of the main Committee of the Association of Pension Lawyers (the “APL”) and a past Chairman of the APL's Legislative and Parliamentary Sub-Committee. He is also a former member of the International Sub-Committee of the Association of Pension Lawyers. During 2018, Philip has provided expert evidence to the House of Commons Work and Pensions Select Committee Consultation on CDC Schemes, appeared as an expert witness before that Committee (and his evidence is referred in more than 10% of the footnotes in the Select Committee’s Report published on 16th July, 2018). He has spoken at a number of conferences, both within the UK and overseas, on Collective Defined Contribution Pension Schemes, published a joint paper comparing Dutch Collective Defined Contribution Pension Schemes with UK Defined Benefit Schemes, and provided a response to the Department for Work and Pensions June 2018 Consultation on clarifying and strengthening trustees’ investment duties. More recently he has published an article, in Trust Law International (Volume 32, Part 4, 2019), on“ Must occupational pension schemes take into account ESG factors, even if there is a risk of financial detriment to the pension fund?” and responded to the UK Department of Work and Pensions public consultation on “ Delivering Collective Defined Contribution Pension Schemes”.