All articles by Clare Bettelley – Page 5
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AnalysisHow emotional intelligence can boost staff health and wellbeing
If you read nothing else, read this…An important aspect of emotional intelligence is learning to notice feelings as they occur.Employees can gain access to the deeper, quieter signals in the brain that allow more creative, intuitive and inspired levels of thinking by learning how to calm down the emotional brain, ...
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AnalysisHow to motivate staff through the January blues
If you read nothing else, read this…In January, employees may be suffering from the effects of their excessive festive spending, overindulgence and the dreariness of the winter season.There are plenty of low-cost benefits that employers can use to motivate staff .But employees may value their manager’s time more than any ...
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Case StudiesCafcass restructured benefits team to aid engagement
Until around two and a half years ago, 80% of the employer’s benefits resource was focused on employee relations, which dealt with case work, discipliniaries and sickness absence. But the structure was inefficient in resolving employee issues and resulted in the Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills ...
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AnalysisThe pros and cons of different benefits team structures
If you read nothing else, read this…Technology and a desire to optimise cost efficiencies are key drivers of centralisation programmes.Centralised structures can facilitate a more focussed, company-wide vision and foster departmental teamwork.Downsides include issues around organisational agility and staff development, and the potential for regional staff to feel sidelined. Many ...
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AnalysisGroup risk supplement 2014
The Employee Benefits Group risk supplement 2014, sponsored by MetLife, rounds up the latest group risk trends and issues, enabling employers to keep up to date on the changing needs of their workforce.The report includes the following articles:Tom Gaynor: Employers need to demonstrate true value of employee benefits Clare Bettelley: ...
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OpinionJeanette Makings: Financial education provides essential retirement guidance
The new pension reforms announced by chancellor George Osborne in the 2014 Budget have been welcomed by most pensions professionals, despite them requiring employers, providers and the industry at large to move quickly to respond.The changes, which include the abolition of compulsory annuity purchase for defined contribution pension scheme members, ...
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VideoTom Gaynor: Employers must demand bespoke support from group risk providers
Employers should be able to call on group risk providers to deliver benefits that meet the needs of their workforce, rather than accepting off-the-shelf propositions, according to Tom Gaynor, employee benefits director at MetLife. Speaking at Employee Benefits’ group risk debate, sponsored by MetLife, Gaynor said: “I think that for ...
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OpinionTom Gaynor: Employers need to demonstrate true value of employee benefits
So it is important for employers to take a long-term and holistic view of the group risk market and the issues it faces. It was evident that there is a need for insurers to explain the relevance and value of group risk benefits and demonstrate their value to both employers ...
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ArticleClare Bettelley: Education on the value of group risk benefits is lacking
The insurance-based benefits are commonly missed when an employee is forced to take extended sick leave and faces not being paid for the duration of this leave, or when an employee dies and fails to make financial provisions for the family they have left behind.Benefits teams need to devise a ...
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AnalysisIs there a place for group risk benefits in a modern benefits package?
If you read nothing else, read this… The number of people of state pension age is projected to increase by 31% from 12.3 million in mid-2012 to 16.1 million by mid-2037, so employers need to consider older employees’ health needs .Legacy group risk benefits tend to have been brought together ...
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AnalysisWhat does group risk benefits provision of the future look like?
If you read nothing else, read this…Group risk benefits of the future need to reflect the UK’s ageing society.The growing dominance of procurement will stifle innovation in the group risk market. Employees need support to sustain any behavioural changes they make to boost their health and wellbeing. Group risk benefits ...
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VideoEmployers will help drive group risk benefits market growth
Employee needs will drive future growth in the group risk market, according to Katharine Moxham, group spokesperson for industry body Group Risk Development. Speaking at Employee Benefits’ Group risk debate, sponsored by MetLife, Moxham said: “I think that employers are in a very powerful position to tell [providers] what they ...
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AnalysisWhat impact has pensions auto-enrolment had on the group risk market?
With the UK’s ageing population benefits packages will need to cater for employees with a potential age-range of 20-80, this holds many challengesThe introduction of pensions auto-enrolment from October 2012 helped to substantially boost the group life market without much effort on the part of insurers.Around 100,000 employees were enrolled ...
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AnalysisWhat should employers ask when implementing group risk benefits?
If you read nothing else, read this…Employers must first identify employee needs.They should then establish how their appointed insurer will help them implement their plan.A good insurer will help an employer manage its benefits spend and ongoing costs. Employers must establish a strong relationship with their group risk benefits consultants ...
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ArticleStaff face big decisions around pension savings
Nearly two-thirds (60%) of respondents say uncertainty about how to make the best decisions around how to access their pensions savings is the greatest challenge facing their employees, according to the Employee Benefits/Close Brothers Pensions research 2014. The research, which surveyed 216 respondents in September 2014, also found that the ...
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ArticleClare Bettelley: Employers need to address staff at-retirement needs now
This perhaps explains why more than half (55%) of respondents do not offer staff support at retirement; the associated issues aren’t at the forefront of employers’ minds.Many employers have reservations about providing at-retirement support because of the blurred boundary betweenfinancial guidance and advice , which employers are prohibited from offering.Employees ...
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VideoVideo Chris Minett: Employers need to act now to support ageing workforce
Employers need to devise a strategy for supporting their ageing workforce with immediate effect, according to Chris Minett, managing director of AgeingWorks. Speaking at Employee Benefits’ Group risk debate, sponsored by MetLife, in September, he said: ”Employers must recognise which employees are being affected and provide proactive rather than reactive ...
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Article62% of HR and benefits teams support staff at-retirement
Just under two-thirds (62%) of respondents’ HR and benefits teams are responsible for their organisation’s at-retirement support for staff, according to the Employee Benefits/Close Brothers Pensions research 2014.The research, which surveyed 216 respondents in September 2014, also found that just over a third (37%) of respondents said that their pension ...
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Article55% do not offer staff support at retirement
More than half (55%) of respondents do not offer their staff support at retirement, according to the Employee Benefits/Close Brothers Pensions research 2014, which surveyed 216 respondents in September 2014.However, the majority of respondents (93%) that do offer staff support have a comprehensive communications campaign in place for staff at ...
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Article49% assessing at-retirement support funding
Just under half (49%) of respondents have yet to quantify the funding they need for their pre-retirement programmes, according to the Employee Benefits/Close Brothers Pensions research 2014.More than a third (35%) of the 87 respondents that offer staff support at retirement expect their funding to remain about the same in ...