Category: Employee Relocation

How to Find the Top Corporate Relocation Companies: 3 Steps to Take Before Issuing an RFP

Jerry Funaro | April 27, 2020

In a time of talent shortages and an ever more connected world, employee relocation can give your company a leg up on your competition. However, with its intersection of talent, tax policy, technology, immigration regulations and other moving parts, global mobility is complex and help from expert relocation specialists become essential. Yet many growing companies have no idea how to find the help they need to support domestic reassignments and international relocations.

For many companies, employee relocation begins in an ad hoc way. There are no polices and few precedents, so the program often consists of a straightforward reimbursement of relocation expenses as they occur. If this describes your company, then this is an excellent time to consider a formal, outsourced relationship with a relocation management company (RMC) and well-thought-out relocation policies. Read More

Mobile Employees May Be Affected by Relief Checks Calculation

TRC Global Mobility | April 6, 2020

This article was originally published by Worldwide ERC on March 27, 2020. Click here to review the original article. If you have questions about how employee relocation benefits can impact relief checks, please contact us.

The proposed coronavirus relief package defines the amounts to be given to taxpayers based on their adjusted gross income. This can be complicated for transferees who received moving expense payments.

A massive coronavirus economic relief package that is expected to be passed by Congress and signed into law by the end of the week includes one-time relief payments to every American with a Social Security number. However, limitations on who can qualify may, in some cases, affect recently relocated employees.

The relief payments are $1,200 per adult ($2,400 for married couples), plus $500 for every child under the age of 17. However, full payments are limited to individuals with adjusted gross income less than $75,000 and married couples with adjusted gross income less than $150,000. The payments then phase out to zero over income levels up to $99,000 and $198,000.
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Worldwide ERC® Requests Financial Assistance for Mobility Industry

Jerry Funaro | March 23, 2020

This article was originally published by Worldwide ERC on March 20, 2020. Click here to review the original article.

Worldwide ERC® has sent letters to congressional leaders requesting the inclusion in the latest economic stimulus package of four provisions to help Worldwide ERC® members address the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

Earlier today, Worldwide ERC® sent letters to U.S. congressional leaders requesting financial assistance for our members to help mitigate losses due to global travel restrictions that are necessary to contain the coronavirus. The U.S. Congress is currently developing a third legislative package to stimulate the U.S. economy and provide financial relief to employees and employers.

In the letter, Worldwide ERC® makes four specific requests of lawmakers as our members face an enormous reduction in the number of relocations.
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U.S. Suspends Travel from 26 European Countries

Jerry Funaro | March 16, 2020

This article was originally published by Worldwide ERC on March 13, 2020. Click here to review the original article.

U.S. President Trump has announced a 30-day suspension of travel by foreign nationals residing or visiting Schengen Zone countries to the U.S. due to concerns over coronavirus (COVID-19).

In a televised speech on 11 March, U.S. President Donald Trump announced the suspension for 30 days of travel to the U.S. by foreign nationals who have been in a country part of the Schengen Zone of Europe in the last 14 days. The entry suspension takes effect today, Friday, 13 March at 11:59 pm (eastern).

U.S. citizens and permanent residents currently in a Schengen Zone country with plans to arrive in the U.S. after the suspension takes effect will be subject to medical screenings. The suspension does not apply to foreign nationals whose plane takes off prior to the effective date and time but lands in the U.S. on 14 March. Several other categories of individuals including certain family members of U.S. residents, diplomats and flight crews are not subject to the restriction.
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The Importance of a Global Mobility Strategy for Growth Driven Companies

Jerry Funaro | February 14, 2020

Today’s talent shortages are likely to continue unabated for years to come, and to be successful, a growth-driven company needs a global talent strategy. Mobility can be an important component of such a strategy.

In the U.S., nearly 6,000 Boomers leave the workforce every day, according to the Pew Research Center, and for companies looking to fill senior management roles, the succeeding Generation X is a markedly smaller group. At the younger end of the workforce, the Millennial generation is even larger than the Boomers, but there are still too few to meet the demand for specialized talent.

Relocation Policy Examples: What Typical Domestic Relocation Packages Include

Jerry Funaro | January 22, 2020

When originally conceived, the typical domestic relocation package was a generous suite of benefits. Companies tailored these relocation packages for senior level managers who owned an often-expensive home, planned to buy a new one at the destination and had considerable personal effects to move. They frequently centered on a Guaranteed Buyout Program, where the company would buy the employee’s home if s(he) could not sell it in a timely manner. Because these were executives, the objective of getting them in place at the destination as quickly as possible trumped cost considerations. Read More

Which Employee Relocation Benefits are Most Popular, which are Not

Jerry Funaro | January 8, 2020

SHRM’s 2018 Employee Benefits Study assessed the prevalence of more than 300 employee relocation benefits and found that lump sum payments are the single most popular relocation benefit offered by the surveyed companies, offered by 28% of responding companies. Other relocation benefits most offered in 2018 included temporary relocation benefits (16% of companies), location visit assistance (16%), reimbursement of shipping fees (12%), and cost-of-living differentials (11%).

However, just as important as understanding the most popular benefits to relocating employees is understanding which benefits are less popular. Because companies periodically reassess their relocation policies to ensure they are remaining competitive in the marketplace and offering benefits employees currently want and use, it’s important to know which benefits have become less necessary and desirable. Read More

What Types of Companies and Industries Benefit Most from Outsourcing Global Mobility Services?

Jerry Funaro | January 3, 2020

To put it succinctly, virtually any company or industry can benefit from outsourcing global mobility services. As a relocation management company (RMC), we will let you in on a secret: mobility is probably one of the most cumbersome of all benefits to attempt to administer in house.

A typical domestic relocation might include counseling, expense administration, tax gross-up, home selling assistance, household goods transportation, temporary housing and home finding assistance. Many third parties are part of this process, bringing further complexity, as a company must source, vet and manage each of their services.

2020 Relocation Home Sale Assistance and Finding Trends Impacting Mobility Policy

Jerry Funaro | December 23, 2019

With the rebound of the U.S. real estate market and the current competition for talent, companies that distanced themselves from home sale assistance often have found themselves at a disadvantage. However, given the current trends impacting U.S. domestic relocation policy, it’s worth taking another look at relocation home sale assistance as a strategic tool for at least some employees. Read More

Civil Unrest in Hong Kong and Global Mobility Duty of Care Employer Obligations

Jerry Funaro | November 30, 2019

For many years, Hong Kong has been ranked as one of the safest cities in the world. However, the recent protests in Hong Kong and unrest have raised some security concerns for corporations with employees and families deployed there as part of its international relocation program. On November 14, the U.S. State Department raised its travel advisory for Hong Kong from Level 1: Exercise Normal Precautions to Level 2: Exercise Increased Caution. The U.S. State Department website advises the following: Read More

Category: Employee Relocation

The proposed coronavirus relief package defines the amounts to be given to taxpayers based on their adjusted gross income. This can be complicated for transferees who received moving expense payments.

Worldwide ERC® has sent letters to congressional leaders requesting the inclusion in the latest economic stimulus package of four provisions to help Worldwide ERC® members address the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19).

U.S. President Trump has announced a 30-day suspension of travel by foreign nationals residing or visiting Schengen Zone countries to the U.S. due to concerns over coronavirus (COVID-19).

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