June 14 – June 16, 2023
NCCMP is honored to host the World Pension Alliance and Transatlantic Conference for 2023 together with the World Pension Alliance (WPA) – a collective organization of the main advocacy associations representing pension plans and providers throughout the world, including the United States, Europe, Canada, Latin America, and Australia, of which NCCMP is a founding member and Chair for the 2022-2023 year.
The conference will be held on June 14-16th at the Hilton Back Bay in historic Boston, Massachusetts.
Each year, the World Pension Alliance and Transatlantic Conference brings together thought leaders and policy makers from around the globe to discuss the trends and best practices in retirement and healthcare benefits, as well as the state of labor/management relations and bargaining throughout the world.
This year, the event will include leading experts in pension and health benefits, as well as Trustees and plan professionals from around the world to share their knowledge and expertise to share their experience on global topics of interest in the areas of pension and healthcare, including:
– the increased global focus on ESG factors in selecting and evaluating investments
– evaluating and maintaining pension fund solvency
– impacts of inflation and the current high interest rate environment
– differing approaches to improving the access and availability of mental health benefits
– controlling the cost of healthcare including prescription drugs
– collective bargaining and nontraditional forms of work
and many more.
Registration is now open – Please click the “Register” button below to join us. We look forward to welcoming you in Boston in June!
Please view the conference agenda and download speaker presentations below. To download the full conference program, please click here: 2023 WPA and Transatlantic Conference Program
Program Agenda
Wednesday, June 14, 2023 - Focus on Pensions
Breakfast & Registration
Westminster
Welcome & Opening of the Day
Michael Scott, Executive Director, NCCMP and Chair, WPA
Addressing Pension Fund Solvency
With the passage of the American Rescue Plan in 2021 and the establishment of the Special Financial Assistance program, the most deeply troubled of U.S. multiemployer plans have begun to receive federal assistance that will enable them to pay full benefits through 2051, and 1.5 million participants will be protected from reductions to their promised benefits. This assistance has highlighted the need to focus on pension fund solvency. This session will consider how pension funds and regulators around the world view solvency, how plan trustees ensure solvency of the funds they manage, and what role national pension backstops play in plan solvency.
Keynote: Hon. Gordon Hartogensis, Director, Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
Panel Discussion: Mariah Becker, Director of Research and Education, NCCMP and Coordinator, WPA
Jason Russell, Senior Vice President and Actuary, Segal
Dr. Christoph Kiehn, Vice President Finance and Risk at SOKA-BAU
Domenic Barbiero, Principal and Consulting Actuary, Eckler
Coffee Break
Westminster
Impact of Inflation and Rising Interest Rates
As interest rates continue to climb to their highest point in a decade, pension funds must consider what that means for their approaches to investments and to long-term pension funding. This session will consider the impact on pension funds of recent tightening of monetary policy throughout the world, including plan investment decisions, long term funding and benefit design.
Keynote: Jared Gross, Managing Director and Head of Institutional Portfolio Strategy, J.P. Morgan
Panel Discussion: Matti Leppälä, Secretary General/CEO, PensionsEurope
Jared Gross, Managing Director and Head of Institutional Portfolio Strategy, J.P. Morgan
Onno Steenbeek, Managing Director Strategic Portfolio Advice, APG Asset Management
Riley St. Jacques, Partner, PBI Actuarial Consultants
Lunch
Westminster
ESG and Sustainable Finance – Woke Investing or Responsible Stewardship?
Throughout the world, regulatory agencies with authority over pension funds have taken different approaches to the use of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) factors in selecting and evaluating investments. This session will explore the evolving views on ESG investing around the world, including what is permitted, what is required, enforcement efforts, using litigation as a tool to enforce accountability and governance, and new developments in each region.
Keynote: Hon. Lisa Gomez, Assistant Secretary for EBSA, U.S. Department of Labor
Keynote: Brian Hale, President and COO, Ullico, Inc.
Keynote: Nancy Juda, Of Counsel, Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd
Panel Discussion: Monte Tarbox, Executive Director of Investments, National Electrical Benefits Fund
Brian Hale, President and COO, Ullico, Inc.
Matthies Verstegen, Head of Brussels Office, Dutch Federation of Pension Funds
Murray Gold, Senior Partner, Koskie Minsky
Closing the Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Wealth Gaps in Retirement
The gaps in retirement security experienced by people of color, ethnic minorities, and women as a result of wage or opportunity disparities or time away from the workplace are well known. There is a similar gap in representation among the leadership of pension funds and pension fund professionals. This session will discuss both national and EU policy efforts to close the retirement savings gap, as well as the role that pension plans themselves can play in ensuring a more equitable retirement.
Keynote: Nari Rhee, PhD, Director, Retirement Security Program, UC Berkeley Center for Labor Research and Education
Panel Discussion: Mariah Becker, Director of Research and Education, NCCMP and Coordinator, WPA
Karina Ransby, Executive Director, Pension & Welfare, Insurance and Pension Denmark
John R. Harney, Partner, O’Donoghue & O’Donoghue LLP
Robert Blakely, Partner, Blakely + Duschenski
Close of Day
Mariah Becker, Director of Research and Education, NCCMP and Coordinator, WPA
Reception
Please join us for a reception at the 40 Dalton restaurant at the Hilton Back Bay.
Thursday, June 15, 2023 - Focus on Healthcare
Breakfast & Registration
Westminster
Opening of the Day
Mariah Becker, Director of Research and Education, NCCMP and Coordinator, WPA
Promoting Mental Health
The global COVID-19 pandemic threw into sharp relief the importance of mental health and mental health benefits. This session will consider approaches to providing mental health benefits throughout the world, including plans’ efforts to support participants in crisis, legal and regulatory requirements around the world with regard to availability and access, and emerging best practices.
Keynote: Hon. Lisa Gomez, Assistant Secretary for EBSA, U.S. Department of Labor
Panel Discussion: Giuseppe Perretti, Policy Advisor for Healthcare & Provident Funds, AEIP
David Brenner, Senior Vice President, National Director of Multiemployer Consulting, Segal
Pamela Storey Baker, M.Ed. (Ed Psych), RP (she/her), Manager FSEAP Eastern Ontario, Family Services Ottawa
Coffee Break
Westminster
Controlling Healthcare Costs
Rapidly increasing healthcare costs are a universal challenge. In the United States, Congress has enacted legislation to both permit Medicare to negotiate certain drug prices for the first time in history and to limit the out-of-pocket cost of insulin for Medicare. While this has spurred the major insulin manufacturers to cap the price of some insulin products, the actual cost impact for plans may be more limited. This session will explore efforts areas of innovation areas of innovation including pharmacogenetic testing, product listing agreements, and recent and future legislation in the U.S. and other countries.
Keynote: George Bognar, Vice President, Health Consultant, East Region, Segal
Keynote: Mike Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Cubic Health
Panel Discussion: Mariah Becker, Director of Research and Education, NCCMP and Coordinator, WPA
George Bognar, Vice President, Health Consultant, East Region, Segal
Mike Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Cubic Health
Lunch
Westminster
Is Telehealth Here to Stay?
In response to the constraints of the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries expanded the ability of plans and healthcare providers to provide healthcare services remotely through video conferencing or other means. Many plans and participants have found this approach to providing healthcare to be more convenient and easier to access than traditional, in-person visits for routine care, in addition to improving access for underserved areas that are underserved by healthcare professionals. As we emerge from the pandemic, plans and legislators consider the impact and effectiveness of telehealth during the pandemic, and whether access to telehealth should continue.
Keynote: Kathy Bakich, Senior Vice President, Health Compliance Practice Leader, Segal
Panel Discussion: Mariah Becker, Director of Research and Education, NCCMP
Kathy Bakich, Senior Vice President, Health Compliance Practice Leader, Segal
Sibylle Reichert, Executive Director, International Association of Mutual Benefit Societies (AIM)
Joe Whitney, Director, Canadian Regulatory and Public Affairs, Manulife
Cybersecurity – Protecting Participant Data
As trustees of pension and health funds, our funds are entrusted with a huge amount of sensitive participant data making them a tempting treasure trove for unscrupulous individuals. This session will discuss cybersecurity requirements for both pension and health funds throughout the world, as well as best practices that plans are putting in place to safeguard participants’ data.
Keynote: Rebecca L. Rakoski, Co-founder and Managing Partner, XPAN Law Partners
Panel Discussion: Cheldon Angus, Chief People & Technology Officer, Saskatchewan Healthcare Employees’ Pension Plan
Rebecca L. Rakoski, Co-founder and Managing Partner, XPAN Law Partners
Prof. Paolo Balboni, Professor of Privacy, Cybersecurity, and IT Contract Law at the European Centre on Privacy and Cybersecurity (ECPC) within the Maastricht University Faculty of Law.
Jeff McMurray, CISSP-ISSAP, CISA, CISM, CGEIT, Executive Director, Technology Risk Consulting KPMG LLP
Close of Day
Mariah Becker, Director of Research and Education, NCCMP and Coordinator, WPA
Friday, June 16, 2023 - Focus on Collective Bargaining
Breakfast & Registration
Westminster
Opening of the Day
Alex McKinnon, President, MEBCO
Worker Power – The Changing Labor Force and Collective Bargaining
Whether it’s new organizing at Amazon warehouses and Starbucks cafes, or the ever-continuing shift to gig work, the face of the workforce is changing rapidly. This session will explore recent developments in how workers approach work and organizing, and the role that collective bargaining can play in ensuring worker rights, representation, and benefits.
Keynote: Mary Vogel, Executive Director, Building Pathways
Panel Discussion: Mariah Becker, Director of Research and Education, NCCMP and Coordinator, WPA and Giuseppe Perretti, Policy Advisor for Healthcare & Provident Funds, AEIP
Mary Vogel, Executive Director, Building Pathways
Nicole Schwartz, Executive Director, TradesFutures
Dana Schäfer, Vice President Posted Workers Scheme, SOKA-BAU
Derik McArthur, Director, UFCW Local 175 & 633
Close of Conference
Michael Scott, Executive Director, NCCMP and Chair, WPA
Matti Leppälä, Secretary General/CEO, PensionsEurope
