All Article articles – Page 877
-
Article
Specsavers appoints new pensions consultancy
Specsavers has appointed Capita Hartshead to provide pensions consultancy services to help increase engagement among employees.The optical retailer is keen to promote the benefits of its group personal pension (GPP) plan across its 18,000 employees, and target strategic communications to meet individual needs.Capita Hartshead will also provide a full scheme ...
-
Article
Computershare Voucher Services research: Working parents unaware of all the uses of childcare vouchers
Just over half (56%) of working parents are unaware that childcare vouchers can be used to help with the cost of summer childcare including holiday sports courses and adventure camps, according to research by Computershare Voucher Services (CVS).The research, which surveyed more than 1,000 working parents, showed that only 1% ...
-
Article
HMRC changes company car advisory fuel rates
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has announced a change to advisory fuel rates, applicable only to company cars.All the petrol rates have increased, ranging now from 15p for an engine size of 1,400 cubic centimetres (cc) or less and 26p for over 2,000 cc, while diesel rates are now between ...
-
Article
Prudential UK appoints pension scheme administrator
Prudential UK has appointed Xafinity Paymaster for the administration services of its money purchase pension (MPP) and group personal pension (GPP) schemes.Linda Conner, customer services manager at Prudential, said: “Xafinity Paymaster has provided pensions administration services to Prudential for many years.“Our decision to extend the activity undertaken by Xafinity Paymaster, ...
-
Article
Amey rejigs pension plans to prepare for 2012 reforms
?Amey has closed its trust-based defined contribution (DC) pension scheme to future accrual, moved members to its group personal pension (GPP) and introduced automatic participation in a pensions salary sacrifice arrangement to prepare for the 2012 pension reforms.After a consultation exercise, the private sector outsourcing contractor closed its trust-based DC ...
-
Article
Buyer's guide to childcare vouchers 2011
Focus on factsWhat are childcare vouchers?These are a government-backed scheme to help working parents to afford quality childcare. Depending on their income, parents can take up to £243 a month of childcare vouchers from their employer, free of tax and national insurance contributions. Vouchers can be used for a wide ...
-
Article
ALD Automotive research: Employers unaware of CO2 emissions impact on NI contributions
Just over one-third (35%) of financial directors are unaware of the impact of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions on national insurance (NI) contributions, according to research from ALD Automotive.The ALD Corporate Survey also showed that only 15% of respondents felt they had any detailed understanding of the costs associated with the ...
-
Article
Specsavers rolls out employee discounts scheme
Specsavers has launched an employee discounts website to cater to staff across its UK and Guernsey offices.Of the organisation’s 1,000 staff, just over 500 are based in Guernsey. Specsavers Perks, provided by Asperity Employee Benefits, was introduced to ensure that staff had offers that were applicable to them at the ...
-
Article
MM&K and Manifest research: CEO remuneration quadruples over 12-year period
Chief executive officer (CEO) remuneration continues to rise, quadrupling over the past 12-year period.This is according to the†Executive Director Total Remuneration Survey 2011, by MM&K and Manifest, which also found poor correlation between remuneration, performance and shareholder value.The survey found that while the median FTSE 100 CEO remuneration was up ...
-
Article
Britvic closes defined benefit pension scheme to future accrual
Soft drinks giant Britvic has closed its UK defined benefit (DB) scheme to future accrual for active members.The scheme was closed to new entrants in August 2002. Current members will move into the defined contribution (DC) scheme for future benefits.The latest formal actuarial valuation for contribution purposes was carried out ...
-
Article
JLT Pension Capital Strategies research: FTSE 100 pension liabilities improve to £32 billion
The total deficit of the FTSE 100 pension schemes totalled £32 billion at 31 March 2011, according to research by JLT Pension Capital Strategies. This amounts to an improvement of £36 billion on 12 months ago. The number of organisations disclosing a pension surplus has doubled from six to 12 ...
-
Article
Globoforce adds to employee recognition scheme
Globoforce has introduced real-time measurement capabilities to its employee recognition offerings. The new services, Recognition Benchmark Index and Recognition Intelligence, provide employers with benchmarks and business intelligence.The Recognition Benchmark Index is based on a set of data points and best practices from nearly two million Globoforce users across multiple industries ...
-
Article
Government launches consultation on abolishing tax reliefs
The government has launched a consultation on the removal of 36 tax reliefs including the provision of meals for bikes for work, luncheon vouchers, and life assurance premiums and life assurance premiums paid by employers under employer-financed retirement benefits schemes (Efrbs).This follows Chancellor George Osborne’s announcement in the 2011 Budget ...
-
Article
Warwickshire County Council takes loan to plug pension cash shortfall
Warwickshire County Council has taken a £5 million short-term loan to make up a cash shortfall in its pension scheme.The shortfall followed austerity measures, which resulted in redundancies and early retirement programmes at bodies associated with the local authority's pension fund.A spokesperson for Warwickshire County Council said: "The short-term loan ...
-
Article
MNPA introduces a healthcare trust
Pensions provider MNPA has switched its private medical insurance (PMI) scheme to a healthcare trust.The switch, with provider Healix, was made to manage claims costs and improve the level of care to its employees.Elizabeth Dorey, HR manager at MNPA, said: "We wanted to improve the level of care we provided ...
-
Article
NAPF research: Only 49% of UK using a pension scheme for retirement savings
Only half (49%) of UK employees are saving for their retirement through a workplace or private pension.But 8% are relying on a lottery win and 9% are banking on an inheritance windfall, according to research from the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) and YouGov.The research, which surveyed 4,177 UK ...
-
Article
Cigna UK launches guides to mental health
Cigna UK has launched two new online guides to help tackle mental health in the workplace.One of the guides provides support and advice to employers managing mental health issues in their organisation, which could range from stress and depression to addictions and eating disorders.Additionally, there is a member’s guide to ...
-
Article
Supportive colleagues increase life expectancy
Supportive colleagues could become an integral part of workplace health and wellbeing packages after researchers at Tel Aviv University in Israel found that employees who had good relationships with co-workers were more likely to live longer.Although some employees may moan about their boss, the study showed that having a supportive ...
-
Article
HSBC research: Britons burying their head in the sand over pensions
Britain’s ‘Ostrich Generation’ ignores or refuses to respond to the changing nature of pension provision, according to research by HSBC.The Future of Retirement: The power of planning report found that although British workers fear they are under-prepared, the majority are burying their heads in the sand and not making any ...
-
Article
General Electric proposes closure of defined benefit pension plan to new members
General Electric (GE) has launched a consultation on its proposal to close its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to new members.Under the proposals, a defined contribution (DC) scheme will be provided for new members, while existing members of the DB pension will continue to pay into the plan.A spokesperson from ...