News October 12, 2023

Marsh McLennan Promotes New President of Mercer Division as CEO Prepares Departure

Pat Tomlinson was promoted to president of the company’s HR consulting arm, with Martine Ferland preparing to step down in March 2024.

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Marsh McLennan, which has businesses that include insurance, retirement advisement and human resources consulting, announced that Pat Tomlinson will be taking on the role of president for its health, wealth and career consulting division, Mercer, as part of a transition in which Mercer CEO and President Martine Ferland will depart at the end of March 2024.

Ferland remains Mercer CEO and vice chair of Marsh McLennan and will oversee Mercer’s regional leaders until she retires on March 31, 2024, according to the announcement on Thursday. At that point, Tomlinson will add roles as CEO of the division and vice chair of the company, joining the executive committee led by Marsh McLennan CEO and President John Doyle.

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Tomlinson will report to Ferland and have management responsibility for Mercer’s global health, wealth and career practices, according to the New York-based firm. Tomlinson will also retain his current responsibilities as CEO of Marsh McLennan U.S. and Canada and president of Mercer U.S. and Canada.

Ferland has been CEO of Mercer since March, 2019, overseeing its 25,000 employees. She previously held the role of group president and joined the firm from Willis Towers Watson, where she was director of retirement in Canada.

“Mercer and Marsh McLennan colleagues will miss Martine’s exceptional and empathetic leadership,” Tomlinson wrote in a statement. “I’ve personally benefited from her counsel and have been inspired by her passion for our clients, our colleagues and our company.”

Tomlinson joined Mercer in 2014 as U.S. and Canada career business leader and, from 2018 to 2020, led the U.S. East market, helping lead Mercer’s health, wealth and career businesses. Prior to joining Mercer, he spent 17 years with Aon and served as an officer in the U.S. Army after graduating from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, according to the announcement.

“I have full confidence in Pat, having worked closely with him over the years. He builds high-performing teams with a commercial mindset and a focus on collaboration and inclusion,” Ferland said in a statement. “I look forward to working with Pat to position Mercer for continued success.”

The firm’s Marsh McLennan Agency has been actively building its retirement and wealth practice by bringing on new advisers, as well as considering acquisition targets. The retirement and wealth division currently has 200 employees serving 2,500 retirement plans.

Correction: Fixes time Fearland spent as CEO.

News October 12, 2023

Social Security COLA Announced as 3.2% for 2024

Monthly Social Security checks will increase about $59, a lower increase than in recent years but still larger than the 20-year average.

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The cost-of-living adjustment for 2024 will be 3.2% for more than 71 million Americans who receive Social Security, the Social Security Administration announced Thursday.

Retirees’ monthly payments will therefore rise by an average of about $59 to an estimated average of $1,907, starting in January 2024, which matched recent projections. Increased payments to approximately 7.5 million Supplemental Security Income recipients will begin on December 29, 2023.

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The adjustment was significantly lower this year than in recent years due to reduced inflation. Recipients had received increases of 8.7% for 2023 and 5.9% for 2022. The average adjustment over the last 20 years was 2.6%.

The maximum amount of earnings subject to the Social Security tax will also increase to $168,600.

The COLA is based on inflation data from the year’s third quarter, published Thursday morning by the Bureau of Labor Statistics in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers.

In addition to the COLA, the earnings limit for workers younger than full retirement age will increase to $22,320, and the earnings limit for people reaching their full retirement age in 2024 will increase to $59,520. The SSA deducts $1 from benefits for each $3 earned over $59,520 until the month the worker reaches full retirement age.

There is no limit on earnings for workers who are full retirement age or older for the entire year.

More information about the COLA, tax, benefit and earning amounts for 2024 is available on the SSA website.

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