Outsourcing, consolidation, and new governance models reshape plan management worldwide.
A recent Mercer insight said that fragmented retirement plan management is giving way to global consolidation and outsourcing, as organisations recognise the operational risks and inefficiencies of maintaining isolated structures.
This trend is emerging as a core governance strategy, not just a cost-control measure.
A growing number of multinational corporations are outsourcing self-administered retirement plans—particularly defined contribution and defined benefit arrangements—to reduce costs, limit compliance exposure, and address resource constraints.
Outsourced Chief Investment Officer (OCIO) solutions are gaining traction, with pooled employer plans, master trusts, and other consolidated models delivering economies of scale, improved reporting, and enhanced member tools.
Regulatory bodies in markets such as the UK, the Netherlands, and Ireland are actively promoting consolidator models to improve oversight and member outcomes.
The role of global benefits teams is also changing.
Once focused on building transparency across local markets, these teams are now directly involved in navigating compliance, legal, and regulatory requirements in regions where in-country HR support has diminished due to global Human Resources Information Systems (HRIS) and shared service centres.
Local teams increasingly seek their input at the early stages of benefit changes, enabling earlier identification of risks, ensuring policy alignment, and addressing potential conflicts of interest.
Organisations are moving towards principle-oriented governance through global minimum standards.
These frameworks set universal guidelines and mandatory design elements while allowing for local adaptation to market conditions and employee needs.
The approach replaces the formal veto powers of global committees with a consultative model, offering local teams more influence over benefit strategy while maintaining consistency.
Technology is another driver of change.
The manual nature of benefits administration, rooted in complex legacy rules, has limited automation.
AI offers potential to process unstructured, multilingual data into centralised systems, enabling better automation of administration and employee communication.
However, the investment needed for such transformation makes a coordinated global approach essential, with data privacy and security as ongoing priorities.
Companies are defining ‘target state’ models to standardise benefits across borders.
These models address benefit types, eligibility rules, market benchmarking, enrolment tools, harmonisation within countries, use of third-party products over self-administered plans, and preferred investment frameworks for DC plans.
