All articles by Jennifer Paterson – Page 189
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Budget 2010: Tax relief conditions on childcare vouchers relaxed
The government intends to introduce legislation in the next parliament that will retrospectively relax the ‘generally available’ conditions applicable to tax exemptions on childcare vouchers and employer-contracted childcare.This measure is intended to clarify the position of employers with employees on or near to the national minimum wage.The amendment in the ...
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Workplace pension participation dropping
Two-thirds (35%) of private sector employees are not in a workplace pension, according to the latest edition of the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) by Towers Watson.This figure is down from 37% in 2008 and 45% in 1999.The survey also underlines the ongoing shift from defined benefit (DB) ...
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Canada Life Group Insurance expands claims management services
Canada Life Group Insurance (CLGI) has extended its claims management services, CMS ViP, offering the scheme to all customers as a matter of course. Additionally, the service now includes the new early intervention services free of charge.The services provide employer and employee support for all group income protection schemes with ...
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Cadbury consults over closure of final salary pension plan to new staff
Cadbury’s defined benefit (DB) scheme will be closed to new employees and a new defined contribution (DC) scheme will be offered instead if proposals from Kraft Foods are accepted.A 90-day consultation period over the proposal, slated to end on 19 March, is currently in progress.A spokesperson from Cadbury said it ...
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Eversheds launches new bonus scheme
A new bonus scheme to be introduced by law firm Eversheds takes a holistic view of performance, because the bonus assessments recognise both the fee-earning and non-fee-earning contributions of individuals.Eversheds’ previous scheme was based on chargeable hours.Bonus pools will be set at the product group level with senior managers holding ...
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Arnold Clark appoints new payroll manager
Motor dealer Arnold Clark has signed a contract with HR services supplier NorthgateArinoso for the management of the monthly payroll for its 8,000 employees.The ResourceLink-Aurora platform will interface with Arnold Clark’s existing in-house HR and time and attendance system.Eddie Hawthorne, Arnold Clark managing director, said: “NorthingateArinso is a company with ...
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Goddard Perry launches actuarial consultancy
Goddard Perry Consulting, formerly Michael Kirk and Partners, has launched an actuarial consulting practice called Goddard Perry Actuarial.The new company will be working with mainly defined benefit (DB) pension scheme trustees. The service will complement the administration and consulting services of Goddard Perry Consulting.David Pettitt, managing director of Goddard Perry ...
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Stagecoach launches voluntary heart health check-ups for staff
Transport group Stagecoach has launched a voluntary heart health screening programme for employees in its UK bus division.Starting in northeast Scotland this month, its Healthy Heart Bus, run in conjunction with BMI Healthcare will tour Stagecoach bus depots, providing free heart health check-ups for thousands of staff.Employees with more than ...
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Informa gives staff leave to volunteer
Informa is offering all employees a day off each year to participate in a volunteering activity of their choice.The new strategy was introduced as part of Informa's 'Be Involved' corporate responsibility (CR) programmes, after the results of a 2009 staff survey showed 86% of employees were interested in becoming involved ...
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Shareholders halt pay rise for HSBC chief executive
Banking giant HSBC has complied with shareholder objection, withdrawing plans to raise chief executive Michael Geoghegan’s base salary from £1.07m in 2008 to £1.4m in 2010.An HSBC spokesperson defended the bank’s pay plans, stating that no UK-based executives took bonuses last year and that there have been very few pay ...
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Two-thirds of DC pension savers are unprepared
More than two thirds (69%) of savers in defined contribution (DC) pension schemes are 'reluctant' or 'unprepared'While 79% are currently participating in their employee’s DC pension scheme, only 14% are confident they will enjoy a comfortable retirement, according to the survey Inside the Minds of UK Participants from investment management ...
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The Royal Parks to offer employees self-service HR system
The Royal Parks is to introduce a human capital management (HCM) system, which will offer self-service sick leave and holiday requests for staff.The HR system, which is planned to go live this summer and will be provided by COA Solutions, will be integrated into the Royal Park's existing system, enabling ...
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Recession impacts value of pension funds’ assets
The worth of self-administered pension funds’ assets dropped to £928bn as stock markets took a dive in 2008, according to a chapter of Pension Trends published by the Office for National Statistics.The value of these assets was £1,093bn in 2007.In 2008, the total income of self-administered pension funds was £58.6bn, ...
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P&MM partners with CPP Group to offer identity protection
P&MM has partnered with life assistance company CPP Group,to launch an identity protection programme.P&MM Lifestyle Solution offers staff unlimited access to their personal credit reports. including credit ratings, credit limits, credit history, loan agreements. This access will allow them to discover whether they have fallen victim to identity fraud.The programme ...
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Consultancy Michael Kirk and Partners rebrands
Employee benefit consultants Michael Kirk and Partners has rebranded, creating a new financial group called Goddard Perry Consulting.Steve Goddard, managing director of the new group, said: “We are very excited about Goddard Perry Consulting a group that can now deliver a wide range of solutions in the corporate arena including ...
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Majority of UK employers will seek guidance on pension reforms
Some 90% of UK employers intend to seek out external advice for a better understanding of the impact of the government’s workplace pension reforms due to come into effect in 2012, According to research by the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (Pada), 67% per cent of small firms will look to ...
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AA launches consultation on changes to final salary pension
The AA has launched a consultation over proposed changes to its final salary pension scheme.†The consultation, which sets out proposals for a final salary pension cap of 1.5% and a 2.5% cap on career average earnings, will be open for 60 days.AA president Edmund†King said: “All employees received a pack ...
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Buck research: Pension de-risking to accelerate
The transfer of pension scheme liabilities is likely to accelerate over the next three years as companies struggle with deficits, reported a joint survey from Buck Consultants and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).The Future of corporate pensions survey found more than a quarter (27%) of company pension schemes plan to ...
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Employers unsure if paying higher fees for investment advice is worth it
Employers battle to work out whether paying higher fees for investment management improves fund growth for staff in defined contribution (DC) pensions, according to a survey from PensionDCisionsThe 2010 PensionDCisions US Sponsor Default Survey, also found that evidence was lacking on whether more complex investment management delivered higher returns in ...
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Reader’s Digest UK goes into administration over pension fund
Publishing company Reader’s Digest has gone into administration in the UK after The Pensions Regulator (TPR)vetoed an agreement to settle its longstanding pension scheme liability.The decision came after the Pensions Regulator decided not to support an agreement already reached between the US parent company Reader’s Digest Association (RDA), the trustees ...