Employee Benefits/Towers Watson Flexible Benefits Research 2012

Editor’s comment

With one of the biggest pensions changes in recent history due to begin taking effect from October this year, it is perhaps unsurprising that many employers are currently giving priority to planning how they will comply.

As their staging dates for auto-enrolment draw nearer, it has become increasingly clear to many how the reforms will affect other benefits and reward systems in an organisation. Flexible benefits are no exception, with some employers looking at how they can utilise their flex schemes to help manage the changes.

This year, the proportion of respondents that say they do not know how they will adapt flex schemes to accommodate pensions auto-enrolment has fallen from just under one-third to 13%. Some 18% will use their flex system for record-keeping and auditing, and the same percentage plan to use it to manage opt-outs.

In addition, 14% aim to manage auto-enrolment through the annual flex renewal process, and a similar number will use the flex system for ongoing tracking of eligibility groups. It will be interesting to see how many other employers adapt benefits schemes to manage their new obligations under the reforms.

As always, we have carried out a prize draw among our respondents. This time, Maria Padley, compensation and benefits manager at Getronics UK, is the lucky winner of £100-worth of Marks and Spencer vouchers.

Debbie Lovewell, Deputy Editor