Dive Brief:
- Making sure employees on international assignment stay healthy while meeting both U.S. and foreign compliance requirements is a difficult challenge, at best. Then, there is the case of an employer hiring an employee on a work visa in the U.S., or hiring an employee who telecommutes from another country — two more benefit related complications.
- According to Employee Benefits Advisor, expat benefits provide globally portable employee benefit offerings of specialized services and products to employees who are on assignment outside of their home country for typically longer than six months. They typically include medical, pharmacy, vision, dental, life, accidental death and dismemberment, long-term disability as well as medical evacuation and other coverages.
- The trick, EBA reports, is offering a portable benefit plan that remains consistent as employees travel for business and cross country borders.
Dive Insight:
Brian Sideris, national sales director for MetLife expatriate benefits, told EBA that expat benefit programs can help employers attract, retain and deploy top talent while, at the same time, offer "tools and resources" to the employees and their dependents to help them manage their health and well-being while in foreign countries.
And while strong expat benefits can represent an excellent recruiting tool —especially for talented younger workers who may be more open to international assignments than older workers with families —it's critical that employers who have these opportunities provide the peace of mind employees expect when taking what amounts to more of a risk in their employment.