Implementation and safeguarding of supplementary social protection
Death and disability insurance, healthcare and retirement costs
EXPERTISE
First finding: supplementary social protection schemes, whether “healthcare costs”, “incapacity, disability or death” provision, or supplementary retirement should be an integral element of a company’s overall remuneration policy insofar as they are:
- Attractive to employees, particularly in the context of an extensive reform of the pensions system
- A means of optimising social security and tax arrangements
However, the rules governing these schemes are constantly changing and require companies to modify them on a regular basis. Frequently, the ink is hardly even dry before companies are required pick up the pen to re-write not only the employment law document in with they are contained, but also the insurance policy that guarantees them. 2019 was a case in point with the merger of AGIRC and ARRCO, the so-called “100% health” reform, termination of intra-annual healthcare costs, the creation of the PER (retirement savings scheme), the end of defined benefit pension plans (L. 137-11), etc.
Second finding: given the complexity and continual evolution of the applicable legislation in this area, companies often have difficulty in identifying all of their obligations, which, in the event of non-compliance, may lead not only to the risk of employment-related litigation but also the risk of a URSSAF adjustment. However, in order to decide upon a company-wide practice, it is vital to assess the risks.
Our response: FACTORHY is dedicated to supplementary social protection by supporting companies and groups of companies at each stage of a supplementary social protection scheme: implementation, modification, transformation, removal. Our mission during the implementation stage primarily involves:
- A review of restrictions under employment law (analysis of sectoral schemes, where applicable) and URSSAF
- Consideration of the group/company’s needs and practices in this area
- The drafting or validation of formal legal documents, verifying the proportionality of the corresponding insurance policies, modifying the schemes over the life of the company
CLIENT CASE STUDY
An example of our work: the ‘social restructuring expert’ lawyer
Background: company restructuring operations impacting supplementary social protection schemes
Action: identification of URSSAF and employment-related problems and risks, definition of “closed groups” of scheme beneficiaries, support in the implementation of a standardised scheme
Result: compliance with employment law obligations in relation to the collective status of transferred employees of which the supplementary social protection schemes are a component, whilst continuing to benefit from the social security contribution exemptions for the corresponding employer financing