Nissan Motors has appointed Mercer as its global retirement consultant for the second year running.
Mercer will advise Nissan on pension governance all over the world. The move will strengthen the business relationship between Nissan and Mercer Japan, and also provide an opportunity to further the partnership between Nissan’s overseas subsidiaries and Mercer globally.
In recent years, Nissan has implemented a strong global governance structure to better manage its exposure to pension plans around the world.
Under this programme, its corporate headquarters established global guidelines around how subsidiaries should manage their pension obligations, and any change to the existing plans need to be reported to and approved by corporate headquarters. This marks the first time such a programme has been attempted in Japan.
As a part of this initiative, Mercer will support Nissan in ensuring smooth information flow by providing a report summarizing the activities and services that the firm has provided to Nissan’s subsidiaries around the world.
Kazuhiko Ishikawa, Japan business leader with Mercer’s retirement, risk and finance business, said, “At Mercer, we deliver innovative solutions for our client greatest people challenges. Nissan Motors is a forward-thinking company, and we are delighted to build on our long-term relationship.
“The global pension plan environment has changed significantly due the credit crunch. This coupled with a shift in the foreign exchange rate, has left Japanese multinationals heavily exposed to potential funding losses in their pension plans abroad. The most apparent impact of such losses will appear on their consolidated financial statements; however the mid- to long-term implications include an increase in deficit contributions and a review of investment strategies. Increasingly, companies in Japan will need to make important decisions to overcome these challenges.”
Chaired by Nissan’s COO, Mr. Toshiyuki Shiga, Nissan’s Pension Committee first named Mercer their Global Retirement Consultant in 2008.
Shintaro Kitano, senior actuary and account manager for Nissan, said, “After an extensive period of evaluation, we decided to sign Mercer to support our global pension governance programme for the second year running.
“Nissan’s initiative to strengthen the global governance structure around pensions and other benefits requires not only the timely collection of information in order to ensure an effective decision-making process. Given the degree of turmoil witnessed during the credit crisis, we also require a proactive approach that will help identify any additional challenges well in advance.”