All Article articles – Page 787
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Dev Raval: Are default funds the best option for the majority of staff?
Default funds the best option for the majority of staff according to 92% of FTSE 100 pension funds [Towers Watson’s FTSE 100 DC pension scheme survey 2012], which operate a default investment strategy, with more than half of those having more than 90% of their members in the default option. ...
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David Noakes: Are default funds the best option for the majority of staff?
The default funds selected by some pension schemes seem to have been chosen using a path of least resistance, to minimise possible employee comeback. This is not to be confused with less risk, although unfortunately it often is.This approach typically identifies an equity-biased, index-tracking fund as the default option. Tracking ...
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Begbies Traynor Group completes lease deal for company cars
Begbies Traynor Group has completed a sale and leaseback deal for its 153 company cars.The fleet arrangement, provided by Zenith, was completed to increase driver choice, reduce internal administration and give more control over the independent recovery firm's fleet spend.Begbies Traynor Group's drivers will have access to a driver portal ...
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Unum launches video to raise awareness of group income protection
Unum has launched a video to help employers understand the value of group income protection.The video forms part of the insurance provider’s income protection awareness-raising campaign.It is hosted on AskUnum, an online hub that hosts blogs, downloadable resources, videos, and questions and answers to help employers and employees find out ...
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Nigel Aston: Are default funds the best option for the majority of staff?
Default funds the best option for the majority of staff, but a decade of educating members has not decreased the 80% relying on a fiduciary of some sort choosing on their behalf. People have more interesting things to do than learn the difference between gilts and equities. It should not ...
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Employees want flexibility around workplace savings and pensions
Employees want more flexibility around their savings and pensions options, but employers are not catering for their needs, according to research by Mercer.Its research, which analysed the defined contribution (DC) pension schemes of more than 300 UK organisations, found that, on average, 58% of employee respondents ranked pensions as the ...
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Legal and General targets staff on retirement savings ahead of auto-enrolment
Legal and General has run an initiative to educate its 7,000 staff about the importance of saving for retirement as the first phase of its communications around auto-enrolment.The insurance firm has an auto-enrolment staging date of April 2013. It has a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, which was closed to ...
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BT introduces online affinity fleet scheme
BT has introduced an online affinity fleet scheme.The scheme will provide employees and former employees access to ex-BT Fleet cars through a website created by CD Auction Group.Zenon Witkowski, head of car sales at BT Fleet, said: “This new online affinity sales scheme will offer an improved service to our ...
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William Grant and Sons adds health cash plan to flexible benefits
EXCLUSIVE: William Grant and Sons has added a health cash plan to its flexible benefits scheme to offer more flexible healthcare provision for its 1,600 employees.The Scottish distiller offers the plan, provided by Cigna Healthcare and introduced in July, in addition to its onsite occupational health programme and private medical ...
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HSCIC report: NHS sickness absence rates continue to decrease
NHS employees in England had a sickness absence rate of 4.12% in 2011/12, slightly lower than the two previous years, according to a report by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).The report presents sickness absence information recorded by the English NHS for the last three financial years and ...
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24% of respondents to implement flexible working during Olympics
Less than a quarter (24%) of respondents said their organisation will implement a flexible working policy for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to research commissioned by networking and virtualisation technology firm Citrix Systems.The YouGov survey, which polled more than 500 senior decision-makers at small and medium-sized enterprises ...
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Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Savings Research 2012: Investment
Getting to grips with pensions and investments can be challenging for employees. With global stock markets and many economies in a state of flux, it is hardly surprising that so many pension scheme members select their plan’s default funds because they either do not want to make a decision about ...
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Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Savings Research 2012: Schemes on offer
The demise of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes and employers’ move to defined contribution (DC) plans has been well documented. This trend can be tracked through Employee Benefits’ pensions research over the last 12 years. In our Pensions strategy research 2000, for example, 39% of respondents offered a DB scheme ...
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Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Savings Research 2012: Retail Distribution Review
Under the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), which will come into effect on 31 December 2012, commission payments from contract-based defined contribution pension providers to benefits consultants and advisers will be banned. Instead, employers will have to pay a fee and/or commission to their consultant or adviser, agreeing upfront how much ...
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Buyer's guide to bikes-for-work schemes 2012
Focus on factsWhat are bikes-for-work schemes?These are tax-free loans to employees that can be operated through salary sacrifice arrangements. Employers buy a bike and safety equipment for the employee and deduct the cost from their gross pay in equal instalments. This arrangement results in tax savings for the employee and ...
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Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Savings Research 2012: Workplace Savings
When it comes to financial planning, few people look at a single savings vehicle in isolation. Taking a holistic view of their finances can be the most effective way for people to identify the best savings tools for their short-, medium- and long-term future.Employers now have a number of workplace ...
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Bandai UK warehouse employs cat as security guard
Millie is not the cat that got the cream, but the one who got the job and the competitive reward package.The Bengal cat has been hired as a security guard at the Bandai UK toy warehouse in Southampton. Having put her paw to paper contract, Millie will be paid in ...
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Education sector framework appoints payroll provider
A framework in the education sector has appointed Equiniti ICS to provide payroll services.The framework, provided by Crescent Purchasing Consortium (CPC), enables educational institutions, including universities, further education colleges, sixth forms and schools, to procure payroll services from Equiniti ICS’ in-house expertise.Alan Foley, director at Equiniti ICS, said: “We are ...
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Salaries are up 1.5% year-on-year
Salaries are up 1.5% year-on-year in the UK, according to research by recruitment consultancy Robert Walters.The Robert Walters 2012 salary survey found that overall permanent salary levels increased 1.8% in London, 2.4% in Thames Valley and the south east, 0.4% in the Midlands, and 0.8% in the north of England.Contractor ...
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ECJ ruling: Staff on annual leave entitled to extra time off if they become ill
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that employees who become ill while on annual leave have the right to reclaim additional paid leave of the same duration at a later date, regardless of when their ill-health commenced.The ruling was prompted by a Spanish trade union case against a ...