All articles by Debi O'Donovan – Page 19
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Article
Budget 2010: Default retirement age to be scrapped and state pension age increased to 66
The coalition government will accelerate the increase in state pension age to 66 years.It will also begin phasing out the default retirement age from April next year.Charles Cotton, reward adviser at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, said: “It is no great surprise that the government is planning to ...
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Budget 2010: Employer NI to be reduced for new SMEs in targeted areas
To encourage the creation of private sector jobs in regions reliant on public sector employment, the government will shortly announce details of a new scheme to reduce employers’ national insurance contributions (NICs).During a three-year qualifying period, new businesses which start up in these areas will get a substantial reduction on ...
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Budget 2010: Reduction in national insurance upper earnings limit
The national insurance upper earnings limit will be reduced to keep it aligned with the income tax higher-rate threshold. Exact figures will be confirmed in the autumn.Based on current Retail Prices Index (RPI) forecasts the basic rate limit will be reduced by £2,500 and the higher rate threshold by £1,650 ...
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Budget 2010: Change to personal tax allowance
It was announced in today’s Budget that the personal allowance for under 65s will be increased by £1,000 to £7,475 in the 2011-12 tax year.The personal allowance is the amount at which no income tax is payable.As a result, the government estimates that the 880,000 lowest income taxpayers will be ...
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CBI calls for greater workplace flexibility
The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) has called for greater flexibility in the workplace in order to foster economic growth, but opposes the scrapping of the retirement age.In a new report, Making Britain the Place to Work, the UK business group highlights the importance of the UK’s flexible labour market ...
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Mike Tyler to take over from Adrian Norris at Buck Consultants
Buck Consultants has appointed Mike Tyler to lead its health and productivity practice in the UK from 1 July.Tyler will succeed Adrian Norris, who is retiring in September, and will be working closely with him over the next three months to ensure a smooth transition into the role.Tyler is a ...
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Pay increases remain depressed
Pay increases have slowed considerably since the UK entered recession, according to the Economic Review published in today's Economic and Labour Market Review, although they have picked up a little of late.Regular earnings (that is, not including bonuses or arrears) in January-March 2010 were 1.9% up on the same period ...
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Debi O'Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits: Will the government play fair on shares?
With the new Conservative/Liberal Democrat coalition government now installed in Westminster, we await its first Budget on 22 June with some anticipation. On the benefits front, it would appear it will be mostly business as before (see News analysis).We have known for some time that the political parties are broadly ...
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Analysis
How to manage: Salary sacrifice company cars 2010
Download a PDF of the Salary sacrifice company cars supplementWhat is salary sacrifice?What are the tax breaks?Building a business caseHow to implement a schemeUnderstanding the risksHow to promote the schemeChoosing vehicles and providersCase studiesSponsor's comment: Zenith ProvectaEditor's comment: Debi O'Donovan, editor, Employee Benefits magazine:Making the most of tax breaks on ...
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Pensions roundtable: Engaging staff in pensions
Download a PDF of the 2010 pensions roundtable: engaging staff in pensionsSound business reasons to offer a good pension schemeHow to offer a defined contribution pensionFinancial education is vitalMake sure staff see the value of pensionsSavings culture needed in workforceEditor’s commentA few weeks ago, we gathered together leading pensions managers ...
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Employee Benefits Summit: Top names gather at the Summit
The UK's most influential benefits professionals will gather at the Employee Benefits Summit in Monte Carlo this month.The event, from 9-11 June, opens with a plenary session from Nita Clarke, co-author of Engaging for success: enhancing performance through employee engagement (commonly known as the MacLeod review), which was published in ...
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Employee Benefits Live: The UK's biggest benefits exhibition
Europe's largest reward and benefits event, Employee Benefits Live, will take place on 28-29 September 2010.The event, including a conference and large exhibition, has been running for 12 years and last year attracted nearly 2,000 visitors over the two days.The top-level conference is completely free to attend. It sees leading ...
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Employee Benefits Awards: Don't miss gala lunch on 25 June
The Employee Benefits Awards 2010 have been inundated with inspiring entries, so make sure you have got a table booked for the gala lunch on 25 June to see all the winners announced.This year's awards attracted a large number of entries, with over 100 finalists in 21 categories. Leading employers ...
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Debi O'Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits: True value of benefits is worth more than cash
There has been an interesting, subtle shift in benefits provision over the past 12 months. A year ago, many employers were battening down the hatches, cutting costs, freezing pay and generally doing what they could to survive a horrendous economic downturn. Some employers are still in this mode, and may ...
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Debi O'Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits: Tax hike may see high earners take the wrap
Over the past year, reward consultants have been talking about the potential consequences for benefits of the tax changes announced in last April’s Budget.Many hours of advice have been devoted to the new world order of executive reward as, firstly, the personal allowance is removed for those earning over £100,000 ...
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Loganair appoints Xafinity to administer pensions
Loganair, the Glasgow-based regional commuter airline, and the trustees of the Loganair Pension Scheme have appointed Xafinity Consulting and Xafinity Paymaster to provide pension administration, actuarial, investment and consultancy services.Xafinity won the mandate (which was previously held by Aon) based on their ability to meet Loganair’s objectives to provide cost ...
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Analysis
Thought leaders: The year ahead 2010
Thought leaders: The year ahead: What is the new vision for employee benefits?Thought leaders: The year ahead: Scottish Widows insight: Employees need education on saving gracesThought leaders: The year ahead: DC members' inertia must be addressedThought leaders: The year ahead: Make sure DB members have the factsThought leaders: The year ...
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Debi O'Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits: Election must not derail key benefits strategies
This election year is putting a bit of a spanner in the works when it comes to planning pensions and benefits strategies. Depending on which opinion polls you believe, there may be a change in government from Labour to Conservative in the next few months. In the meantime, any strategies ...
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Tesco staff share in £144 million payout from sharesave scheme
Over 55,000 Tesco staff who saved between £5 and £50 a month for the past five and three years, are sharing a £144.4 million payout with returns of 100% and 44% for each scheme respectively.Over 9,000 top savers, who have contributed the maximum £50 every month for the past five ...
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Debi O'Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits: Rebuilding trust is vital task after the recession
On 26 January, it was announced that the UK economy had emerged from its 18-month recession with 0.1% growth for the previous three months. Despite the fact that few expected the news to have a dramatic impact on people’s day-to-day lives, many of us have started to see a subtly ...