How to Achieve Cost Control via a Multinational Pooling Programme

A multinational pooling programme is a structured approach designed to help global companies manage employee benefits efficiently across multiple countries. Companies aggregate claims from different regions within a centralised pool, which provides enhanced visibility over costs, enables greater stability in financial outcomes, and ensures local benefit plans are aligned with wider corporate policies.

This type of scheme is particularly well-suited to organisations commencing their journey with international employee benefits management. It offers HR and finance teams the ability to closely monitor developments across overseas plans, identify issues at an early stage, and uphold compliance throughout diverse markets.

Managing employee benefits internationally comes with a unique set of challenges:

• Differing local regulations and insurance policies across countries
• Inconsistent cost structures and claim patterns
• Limited visibility on global benefits spend
• Ensuring corporate policies are applied consistently

A multinational pooling programme provides a framework for international risk management, enabling companies to track claims, assess risk, and make informed decisions. It helps global corporates implement consistent governance while controlling costs efficiently.

Pooling programmes offer several ways to optimise financial outcomes:

• Pooling dividends and rebates – Combining claims data from multiple countries may generate surplus funds, which can be returned to the company to reduce net benefits costs.
• Reduced volatility – Risk is spread across multiple locations, stabilising the overall benefits spend and preventing unexpected cost spikes.
• Enhanced transparency – Centralised reporting gives finance and HR teams insight into spending trends and highlights key cost drivers.
• Plan optimisation – Insights from pooled data allow adjustments to benefit structures, aligning local plans with corporate objectives while remaining competitive locally.

A major advantage of pooling is the ability to identify problems before they escalate, empowering companies to proactively manage benefit programmes and reduce financial and regulatory risks. This includes spotting unexpected claim trends such as rising claims in particular regions or employee groups, highlighting compliance gaps where local plans might not fully align with corporate or international policies, and detecting cost inefficiencies if local plans contribute to higher-than-expected spend.

To maximise the benefits of pooling, corporates should:

• Start with a pilot – Begin in a smaller region to test processes and refine reporting.
• Engage stakeholders early – Involve HR, finance, and legal teams from the outset.
• Set clear metrics – Track success through cost savings, compliance, and employee satisfaction.
• Conduct regular reviews – Evaluate performance quarterly or biannually and adjust strategies.
• Leverage expert partners – Collaborate with insurers or brokers who specialise in multinational pooling for operational support and insights.

Cognizant, a global professional services company with over 336,000 employees in around 50 countries, uses multinational pooling to manage diverse local employee benefit plans efficiently.

• Multinational pooling allows Cognizant to have better governance and control over its global benefits programme, optimising costs across countries with varied policies.
• The pooling providers enable Cognizant to consolidate important data and services, such as compiling insurer ESG credentials into a single report, saving significant administrative effort.
• Successful use of pooling allows Cognizant to earn annual dividends on pooled experience, which it reinvests in wellbeing initiatives that enhance the overall employee experience.

A multinational pooling programme serves as a cornerstone of effective international risk management programmes. Through the centralisation of risk, improved oversight, and policy alignment, corporates can:

• Control costs while maintaining plan quality
• Improve compliance and transparency across regions
• Optimise employee benefit programmes with data-driven insights
• Support HR and finance teams in strategic decision-making

For brokers and corporate decision-makers, adopting a multinational pooling approach provides measurable efficiency and value, helping organisations manage risk globally while keeping employee benefits aligned with corporate objectives.