All Article articles – Page 758
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Unilever awarded top family-friendly employer
Unilever has been recognised as the top employer for family-friendly working in Workingmums.co.uk’s Top Employer Awards.The multinational consumer goods company was praised for its policies that encourage female career progression and flexible working.The Top Employer Awards celebrate organisations that promote family-friendly working practices.The winners were:Innovation in flexible working – Unilever.Employee ...
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Shell wins award for international share plan
Royal Dutch Shell has been awarded the title best employee share ownership plan worldwide at the Employee Share Ownership Centre (Esop Centre) awards.The multinational oil and gas company had previously won the award in 2010. Since then it has increased its communications and introduced a dedicated website for its share ...
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JLT Growth Fund available for use in GPPs
JLT has made its growth fund available to members of group personal pension (GPP) plans.Aegon is the first pension provider to offer this option for employers to include in their GPP investment selection.The JLT Growth Fund was launched in May 2012 for individuals wanting a diversified growth fund.Paul Armitage, head ...
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Fire authority to launch salary sacrifice car scheme
Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service will launch a salary sacrifice car scheme as part of its flexible benefits plan.The scheme allows eligible employees to exchange a portion of their salary in return for a new car package. It is focused on low-emission and fuel-efficient cars.Mydrian Harries, head ...
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Asda saves with company car scheme
EXCLUSIVE: Asda has seen cost savings of around £950,000 a year since it switched from a cash allowance to a company car scheme in 2010.Asda has used the savings to improve the choice and specification of the cars available through the scheme.The grocery retailer had 1,500 employees eligible to take ...
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The Pensions Trust appoints investment provider
The Pensions Trust has appointed AllianceBernstein as the investment provider for its auto-enrolment product, SmarterPensions.Its auto-enrolment-compliant defined contribution (DC) scheme will be launched in March 2013 and is intended to provide a platform for the pension provider’s qualifying workplace pension schemes.The scheme will use AllianceBernstein’s target date funds as its ...
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Health cash plans among employees' preferred benefits
A third (35%) of respondents ranked health cash plans among their top-three preferred benefits, according to research by PMI Health Group.The research, conducted with global research consultancy TNS, found that, among this 35% of full-time employees, 11% ranked cash plans as their most valued benefit overall, behind contributory pensions (25%), ...
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Government plans defined ambition pension
The government has set out proposals to rebuild confidence and trust in workplace pensions.Its paper, Reinvigorating workplace pensions, contains new ideas for sharing the risks more equally between employer and employee, and for helping UK workers get the most out of what they save in a pension.The report includes more ...
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Paradigm offers GPP alongside corporate wrap
Paradigm Group is to offer an off-platform group personal pension (GPP) plan alongside its corporate wrap platform.The GPP, which is provided by Aegon, is intended to give employers an alternative if the platform approach is not appropriate for them.Anthony Morrow, partner at the Paradigm Group, said: “We are pleased to ...
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ALD Automotive expands reach to Asia Pacific
ALD Automotive and its North American partner Wheels have formed a partnership with Australian-based fleet management organisation FleetPartners.The partnership will offer support to ALD Automotive’s international employer clients with operations in the Asia-Pacific region.FleetPartners has more than 60,000 cars under management in Australian and New Zealand. The partnership with ALD ...
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AIB asks former directors to reduce pensions
Allied Irish Banks (AIB) has written to its former senior executives to request they voluntarily reduce their pensions as part of its plans to lower its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme deficit.The bank first announced its plans in the AIB 2012 Half yearly financial report, which was published on 31 ...
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Aegon launches range of lifestyle funds
Aegon has launched a range of core lifestyle funds, which aim to provide more certainty about the size of annuity investors can buy as they near retirement.The seven Core Risk Profile Lifestyle Portfolios, which have been designed in conjunction with Morningstar OBSR, each have a different risk profile. The funds ...
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Aegon launches RDR-ready pensions
Aegon UK has launched a flexible pension plan and a group personal pension (GPP) plan that are compliant with the retail distribution review (RDR).Under the RDR, which takes effect from 31 December 2012, pension providers will no longer be able to remunerate independent financial advisers (IFAs) and employee benefits consultants ...
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Towers Watson adds to DC pensions consulting team
Towers Watson has appointed Andrew Cashmore and Martin Knight as DC consultants in its defined contribution (DC) pension consulting team in the north of England and Scotland.Cashmore, who has more than 20 years’ experience in pensions, joins from Buck Consultants, where he worked for the past 15 years as senior ...
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Barclays Group adds new shares platform
Barclays Group has introduced a new platform for the administration of its global equity and long-term incentive plans (L-tips).The banking group’s discretionary share plans, which have more than 8,500 participants, will be administered by Barclays Corporate and Employer Solutions (C&ES).Barclays C&ES has formed an agreement with administrator Solium Capital to ...
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Xerox staff access online benefits
EXCLUSIVE: Xerox has seen 60% of its 3,550 staff access its online benefits portal since it was launched in June 2012.Almost all (93%) of that 60% said they would recommend the site to colleagues.The portal provides personalised online total reward statements (TRS), which break down the employee’s reward package; detailed ...
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ABI launches annuity rates consultation
The Association for British Insurers (ABI) has launched a consultation on proposals to conduct a regular survey on annuity rates to help those reaching retirement get a good deal.The consultation follows the launch of the ABI code of conduct on retirement choices, in March 2012, which requires its members to ...
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A third of staff will work past 65
More than a third of respondents said they believe they will work past the age of 65, according to research by Canada Life Group.The report, which surveyed 1,635 UK workers, found that 44% of men said they intend to continue to work past the age of 65, while 33% of ...
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Over £60 billion invested in underperforming pension funds
Some of the UK’s largest individual pension funds are failing to deliver value for money, according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown.Its Pension investment performance report found that tens of billions of pounds are invested in the UK’s largest pension funds, which have underperformed over the last 10 years.Over the last ...
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Over-50s too optimistic about DC pension pots
Over-50s with defined contribution (DC) pension schemes are too optimistic about the amount of retirement income they will receive, according to research by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS).The report, Expectations and experiences of retirement in defined contribution pensions: a study of older people in England, supported by the National ...