Hundreds of employees at Compass Group have been given the opportunity to visit an independent financial adviser (IFA) following changes to the company's defined benefit (DB) pension scheme. Around 20% of the food services company's 65,000 staff have been affected by the pensions changes and have been offered, the chance to obtain advice by phone, face-to-face or online from IFA firm Clarity.
Sally Mason, HR director reward at Compass Group UK and Ireland, said: "It was a change to our defined benefit scheme which would have an impact on someone's final earnings. [The employees concerned] didn't have to do anything they just had to think about the future in a slightly different way."
She added it was important to fund the advice for staff because under regulations the company is only able to provide information."The IFA [can] talk to people looking at their own individual circumstances. [Employees might] want to review their pension arrangements, and think about if they are going to get less under the new defined benefit scheme, [and ask themselves] if they need to make up that shortfall anywhere else, [such as] do they need to put in additional voluntary contributions [or] do they need to take out other pension schemes."