News – Page 35
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Dominic Chappell convicted of withholding information from TPR on BHS
Dominic Chappell, the majority shareholder of Retail Acquisitions, the organisation that bought BHS for £1, has been found guilty of failing to provide information to The Pensions Regulator (TPR) during the sale of the British retail organisation.Under section 72 of the Pensions Act 2004, Chappell was legally obliged to provide ...
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Esther McVey appointed secretary of state for work and pensions
Conservative member of Parliament (MP) Esther McVey has been appointed as the new secretary of state for work and pensions.McVey, who has been the MP for Tatton since June 2017, commenced her new role in January 2018 after the former minister, David Gauke, was appointed the secretary of state for ...
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BT employees accept pay and pensions deal
BT employees who are members of the Prospect trade union have voted to accept a new pay and pensions deal.The agreed deal offers employees being moved from the organisation’s defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, the BTPS, to its defined contribution (DC) scheme, the BTRSS, a transitional payment. Furthermore, employer contributions ...
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Simplyhealth revamps benefits and reward proposition
Health cash plan provider Simplyhealth has revamped its benefits and reward proposition for its 1,300 UK-based employees, including enhancing the organisation’s defined contribution (DC) pension scheme, introducing financial education and launching a flexible benefits personal spending account.The changes to the organisation’s benefits offering, which were collectively effective from 1 January ...
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FTSE 100 defined benefit (DB) pension funding liabilities rise to £705 billion
The funding liabilities for FTSE 100 defined benefit (DB) pension schemes in the UK have risen to £705 billion at the end of December 2017 from £460 billion at the end of September 2017, according to research by JLT Employee Benefits.JLT’s The FTSE 100 and their pension disclosures report, based ...
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Auto-enrolment review confirms age criteria to be lowered to 18
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed that the lower age criteria at which employers are required to auto-enrol employees into a workplace pension is to be reduced from 22-years-old to 18-years-old.The recommendation forms part of the DWP’s Automatic-enrolment review 2017: maintaining the momentum report, published today (Monday ...
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Poll: 50% think collective DC pensions schemes are not a suitable DB replacement
Employee Benefits poll: Half (50%) of respondents think that collective defined contribution (DC) pension schemes are not a suitable replacement for defined benefit (DB) arrangements.A straw poll of www.employeebenefits.co.uk readers, which received 26 responses, also found that 27% of respondents believe that collective DC schemes can work as a replacement ...
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Pirelli completes £100m pensions buy-in
Tyre production and technology organisation Pirelli has completed a £100 million pensions buy-in transaction for three of its defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.The full scheme buy-in transaction is designed to secure the pension benefits for current employee members and retirees of the Pirelli General Executive Pension and Life Assurance Fund, ...
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Crest Healthcare to be prosecuted for auto-enrolment non-compliance
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is to prosecute healthcare organisation Crest Healthcare and its managing director for failing to automatically enrol its employees into a workplace pension scheme.The Birmingham-based organisation and its managing director Shelia Aluko have been summoned to appear at Brighton Magistrates’ Court on 22 December 2017 to each ...
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Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund completes £490m pensions buy-in
The Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund (MNOPF) has completed a £490 million pensions buy-in transaction.The buy-in transaction, which was completed with Legal and General, will cover all MNOPF’s retirees since 2014, to ensure that pension benefits for retired members are hedged against longevity risk.The buy-in transaction is the latest de-risking ...
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86% cite pay as the most important aspect of their job
More than four-fifths (86%) of respondents cite pay as the most important aspect of their job, according to research by Paymentsense.Its survey of 2,000 UK participants also found that 79% of respondents feel that having 20 or more holiday days is most important when it comes to their job.The research ...
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British Airways to introduce new defined contribution pension scheme
British Airways (BA) is to introduce a new defined contribution (DC) pension scheme as part of a new flexible benefits package for staff.The new pension scheme, which is due to open on 1 April 2018, will replace the airline’s existing defined benefit (DB) scheme, the New Airways Pension Scheme (Naps), ...
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Punter Southall Group businesses to merge with Xafinity
UK pensions actuarial, consulting and administration organisation Xafinity is to acquire Punter Southall Group’s actuarial, investment consulting and administration businesses.The proposed merger will see Xafinity acquire Punter Southall, Punter Southall Investment Consulting and Punter Southall Administration for a combination of cash and shares, predicted to total around £153 million. The ...
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36% say workplace pensions are the most valuable employee benefit
Just over a third (36%) of employer respondents say that workplace pensions are the most valued employee benefit, according to research by Hargreaves Lansdown.Its Workplace benefits: the employer view report, which surveyed 349 UK employers, also found that 15% who rank private medical insurance as the most valuable, while 12% ...
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British Airways suspends pension transfer values for active members
British Airways (BA) has temporarily suspended the provision of transfer values to all its active British Airways Pensions members.The suspension will apply to active members of the airline's defined benefit (DB) New Airways Pension Scheme (Naps) and the Airways Pension Scheme (Aps), unless the transfer values are being requested for ...
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Government launches consultation on the authorisation and supervision of master trusts
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a consultation on the draft regulations and policies for the authorisation process and supervisory regime for master trust pension schemes.The consultation, which will run until 12 January 2018, is seeking views on proposed draft regulations that will introduce an authorisation and ...
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43% want flexible working as part of their benefits package
More than two-fifths (43%) of employee respondents want access to flexible working arrangements as part of their employee benefits package, according to research by Hibob.Its Part two: powerful perks: what people really want report, which surveyed 501 UK employers and 4,001 UK employees, also found that 41% of employee respondents ...
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First Group consolidates Local Government Pension Scheme assets to create £1bn fund
Transportation organisation First Group has consolidated its pension scheme assets across three Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) arrangements to create a £1 billion fund.The organisation will consolidate its pension schemes’ assets by transferring £700 million from the West Yorkshire LGPS and the South Yorkshire LGPS into the Greater Manchester Pension ...
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Government launches inquiry into collective defined contribution schemes
The Work and Pension Committee has launched an inquiry into the possibility of introducing collective defined contribution (DC) pension schemes to the UK pensions market.The inquiry, which is accepting written feedback from interested parties up to 8 January 2018, will investigate whether collective DC arrangements can benefit UK savers and ...
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Lovewell's logic - The Autumn Budget: a welcome respite from pensions change or a missed opportunity?
For a number of years now, barely a Budget has gone by without an announcement that has resulted in further changes impacting the provision of workplace pensions.It was unsurprising, therefore, that in the lead up to the first ever Autumn Budget on Wednesday 23 November, there was much speculation about ...