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Helping maritime employers invest in their people for the long term
The maritime industry relies on skilled professionals who may work across vessels, countries and jurisdictions throughout their careers. Attracting the right people is important but encouraging them to build a long-term career with your organisation can be just as valuable.
The International Maritime Employees Savings Plan from STM Malta is designed for maritime employers looking to enhance their employee benefits proposition while helping their people build towards their long-term financial goals.
The International Maritime Employees Savings Plan is a long-term savings solution designed with the needs of people working internationally in the maritime industry in mind.
The Plan is a retention-led employee benefit arrangement designed to help Maritime employers strengthen employee loyalty, reward long-term service and enhance their overall employee value proposition. Implemented through an underlying Employee Benefit Trust (EBT), the Plan can be offered to Maritime professionals across multiple countries.
The Plan can be structured around service-based outcomes, allowing participating companies to reward continued employment, recognise long-term commitment and support staff retention. At the same time, maritime employees have the opportunity to build long-term value through contributions and investment growth, helping support future financial goals.
The International Maritime Employees Savings Plan has been developed with internationally mobile maritime professionals in mind, including:
Maritime careers rarely follow a conventional 9-5 pattern. Employees may spend extended periods at sea, move between vessels or employers, and work internationally over the course of their career.
For maritime employers, this creates a challenge: How do you build a compelling employee proposition that encourages valued people to stay for the long term?
The International Maritime Employees Savings Plan provides a structured employee benefit through which participating employers can support employees’ longer-term financial goals while recognising continued service.
Strengthens your employee benefits proposition and gives valued maritime professionals another reason to build a long-term career with your organisation.
Supports a workforce whose careers may span different vessels, employers, countries and jurisdictions.
Allows employers to define eligibility, contribution rates, vesting, access, leaver treatment and benefit events. Access to vested contributions and any withdrawals remain subject to the Plan Rules and applicable Addendum.
Enables employers to recognise continued service while reinforcing the value of building a future with the organisation.
Separates employer decision-making, trustee oversight, discretionary investment management and custody.
Enables multiple maritime cohorts to operate within one Master Trust while maintaining separate records and rules.
Your people are central to your maritime operation. Providing benefits that look beyond today’s remuneration can demonstrate the value you place on their longer-term contribution.
Strengthen your employee proposition
Help people plan for their future
Help employees establish the habit of saving regularly and begin building long-term financial resources.
As employees develop their skills, responsibilities and careers, a long-term savings benefit can continue to form part of their overall reward package.
Service-based outcomes can recognise employees who continue to build their careers with your organisation.
Long-term saving can help employees build towards their future plans, including the eventual transition from a career at sea to life ashore.
The Plan can be tailored to meet an employer’s recruitment and retention objectives.
Employer top-ups at year 3/5/10, or one-off ‘loyalty awards’
Employer-funded portions vest gradually (e.g., 20% per year) to encourage longer tenure
Employer-funded portions vest only after a minimum service period (e.g., 2 years), aligning with the Trust’s leavers rule
Higher employer contribution rates for critical roles, seniority bands, or sustained performance
Different treatment of employer-funded benefits depending on the reason for leaving, where permitted and documented
Contributions can be made by the employer, the employee, or both. Contribution levels may be tailored according to employer objectives and can vary by employee group, tenure or other agreed criteria.
All assets are held and administered through the underlying Employee Benefit Trust and overseen by an independent trustee.
Contributions are invested through the Trust using a diversified investment approach designed to support long-term benefit outcomes. The value of benefits depends on the performance of the underlying investments and is not guaranteed.
Benefits are paid in accordance with the Trust documentation and Plan design. Employers can structure benefits around retention objectives, service milestones and other employment-related conditions.
All contributions made by employees and employers are invested through the underlying Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) and managed by a professional Investment Manager. The investment approach is designed to support members’ long-term objectives and can be aligned to their expected benefit horizon, including retirement where relevant.
The Trust also considers Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) factors when selecting investments and seeks transparency from investment providers through recognised data sources such as Bloomberg and Morningstar.
The Investment Manager may invest assets held under the underlying EBT for the Plan in liquid instruments suitable for retail clients. These may include investment schemes such as UCITS or investments traded on the stock exchange. Different assets have different risks, and the Investment Manager seeks to ensure diversification to avoid an accumulation of risk within the portfolio. For members with shorter investment horizons, the Investment Manager will reduce exposure to more volatile assets.
The Plan is intended to provide long-term employee benefits (and may include retirement-related benefits depending on the benefit design). As a defined contribution-style arrangement, the level of benefits is not fixed and is calculated by reference to the value of the assets held for members under the underlying EBT.
The Plan can be offered internationally through the underlying Malta Employee Benefit Trust. The taxation of contributions and benefits may vary according to an individual’s country of residence and any applicable double taxation treaty. Independent tax and legal advice should be obtained in relevant jurisdictions.
agreements worldwide
Malta has an extensive network of double taxation treaties (more than 80 agreements worldwide) designed to help avoid the same income being taxed twice in cross-border situations, typically through agreed allocation of taxing rights and relief mechanisms (e.g., tax credits), subject to the specific treaty and local law.
Malta also provides domestic mechanisms for double taxation relief in certain circumstances, including where foreign tax has been suffered. The underlying Employee Benefit Trust (EBT) is established under Malta’s trust framework, and trustees are authorised and supervised by the Malta Financial Services Authority (MFSA).
For more information, please refer to our STM Malta Trust Services document.
It is a retention-led Employee Incentive Plan implemented via a Malta Employee Benefit Trust (EBT), holding assets with an independent trustee.
The Plan is for maritime employers seeking to retain key staff and align employees with long-term business objectives; can be offered internationally.
Employers can use the Plan to create a structured, long-term benefit that rewards tenure. Common retention-led designs include service milestone awards, graded or cliff vesting of employer-funded benefits, and tiered employer contributions for key roles. In this Plan, the rule that employee contributions may be refunded if an employee leaves before the vesting period as per Trust Deed (typically 2-5 years, depending on the terms agreed with the employer) can also support retention, while the treatment of employer-funded portions can be aligned to the employer’s retention objectives (as set out in the Trust documentation and Plan design).
Where multiple employers participate, employees moving between participating employers may remain within the same Plan arrangement (subject to eligibility and local constraints).
Cross-border outcomes depend on the employee’s location and any applicable double taxation treaty; independent advice is required.
For many people, relying solely on state benefits may not be sufficient to maintain their preferred lifestyle over the long term. Building additional savings through regular contributions over a working life can help create a meaningful financial buffer for future needs, including retirement, family goals, or other life events.
In the context of this International Maritime Savings Plan, the primary purpose is to provide a structured employee benefit that supports recruitment and retention. Depending on the benefit design, it can also contribute to longer-term savings outcomes for employees.
While contributions may become vested after the applicable vesting period, any access to vested contributions or withdrawals remains subject to the terms of the Plan Rules and any applicable Addendum.
Tax treatment depends on the Trust rules underpinning the Plan and the employee’s country of residence. In some jurisdictions there may be incentives for employer and/or employee contributions or for long-term incentive arrangements. Where the underlying EBT is established in Malta and benefits are paid cross-border, double taxation treaties (where applicable) may influence which country taxes certain benefits. Employers and employees should obtain tax advice in each relevant jurisdiction.
Yes. Depending on the employer’s Plan design and the Trust rules, contributions may be paused or stopped. Amounts already contributed will typically remain invested in line with the investment approach, and contributions may be restarted subject to the Trust rules and any eligibility conditions.
Benefits under the Plan are linked to the contributions made for you (by you and/or your employer) and the performance of the underlying investments, as recorded in your member account. The timing and form of distributions (e.g., service-based benefit triggers, cash payments, or retirement-related benefits where included) depend on the Trust rules and the employer’s Plan design.
The form and timing of Plan benefit payments depend on the Trust rules and the employer’s Plan design. Where benefits are payable as regular payments (for example, in a retirement-related design), payment frequency may be selected from available options. Any taxes due on distributions are determined by the applicable rules in the relevant jurisdiction.
The Investment Manager invests assets held under the underlying EBT for the Plan in diversified, liquid instruments suitable for the intended risk profile. The approach can be aligned to members’ expected benefit horizons (including, where relevant, time to retirement), typically reducing exposure to more volatile assets as the horizon shortens. As with any investment, values can go up or down and past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.
If you move to another country, your entitlement under the Plan remains tracked in line with the Trust rules. If your new employer is also a participating employer, you may be able to continue within the same Plan arrangement (subject to eligibility). Otherwise, depending on the Plan design, you may be able to keep your benefit invested, receive a distribution when eligible, or transfer value where this is permitted and practical.
The Trust administrator and trustee are responsible for receiving and allocating contributions, appointing and overseeing the investment manager and custodian, ensuring benefits are paid in accordance with the Trust rules, and providing periodic reporting to members and regulators (as applicable). Where a specific provider has been appointed (e.g., STM Malta Pension Services Limited), that entity will carry out these functions in line with its regulatory permissions.
ESG considerations may be taken into account within the investment policy. The Trust aims to invest in companies or funds that make their ESG strategy and key results transparent and available through established data providers, while recognising that ESG metrics and methodologies continue to evolve.
Your options depend on the Trust rules and your employer’s Plan design. If you leave employment before the vesting period as per Trust Deed (typically 2-5 years, depending on the terms agreed with the employer), employee contributions may be refunded in line with the Trust rules (and the treatment of any employer contributions will also follow the Trust rules). If the Plan is adopted by multiple employers, and you move to another participating employer, you may be able to remain within the same Plan arrangement, subject to eligibility and any local legal/tax requirements.
Depending on the Trust rules and any insurance/benefit features included, there may be provisions for early access or benefit payments on ill-health grounds. Any eligibility requirements and the form of payment would be set out in the Trust documentation.
The Trust rules will set out how death benefits are handled, including how beneficiaries or dependants may be nominated and how payments may be made. In some trust structures, trustees may have discretion (within the rules) over the timing and recipients of payments.
Participation is arranged through your employer. Once your employer has adopted the Plan design under the underlying EBT, eligible employees who wish to participate will be enrolled through the employer’s HR/payroll process, in line with the Trust rules.
Contributions are typically made via payroll deduction (where applicable). Your employer may deduct your chosen amount each month, add any employer contribution, and remit amounts into the Plan via the underlying EBT. The administrator allocates contributions to your member account and arranges investment in line with the investment approach.
Yes. The Plan can be used to operate incentive arrangements where benefits are earned over time and paid only when conditions are met (for example, end-of-service awards for good leavers, deferred bonuses with performance conditions and clawback provisions, or share-based incentives). Assets can be set aside in a segregated pool held by an independent trustee under the underlying EBT, supporting transparency and the employer’s retention objectives.
Explore how the International Maritime Employees Savings Plan could support your recruitment and retention strategy.
