News – Page 52
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: 93% believe childcare vouchers are best tax-efficient benefit
EXCLUSIVE: The majority (93%) of respondents feel that childcare vouchers are the most popular tax-efficient benefit offered by their organisation, according to the Employee Benefits/Xerox HR Services Benefits research 2016, published in June 2016.The government’s tax-free childcare scheme, aimed at replacing childcare vouchers, will be phased in from 2017, with ...
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Article85% of students expect an annual pay rise when they start work
More than four fifths (85%) of students expect an annual pay rise when they join a workforce, according to research by mobile app Debut.The Expectations of Work report, which surveyed 12,000 students in May 2016, also showed that 80% of respondents believe it is now harder to get a job ...
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ArticleEU referendum 'leave' vote expected to impact workplace benefits
The UK has voted to leave the European Union (EU), with potentially far reaching consequences for employers and employees.With a reported 71.8% turn out, 52% of voters elected to leave the EU in the referendum on 23 June 2016.To begin the withdrawal process, the government will have to trigger Article ...
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ArticleDiscover how to tackle pensions auto-re-enrolment at Employee Benefits Live
Employee Benefits Live 2016 will tackle pensions auto-re-enrolment issues as part of its Workplace Pensions conference stream.Graeme Wyllie, head of pensions, UK and Ireland at the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Jill Cunnison, head of reward at Capital One, will explain how they have overcome the challenges of communicating complex ...
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ArticleImperial Chemical Industries Pension Fund agrees £630m buy-in
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Pension Fund has completed a £630m buy-in.The bulk annuity transaction with Scottish Widows covers 4,000 members of the pension scheme.The pension fund was advised by LCP and Allen and Overy on the buy-in transaction.Heath Mottram, chief executive officer at the ICI Pension Fund, said: “This buy-in ...
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ArticleSwindon Town football club fined for failing to meet auto-enrolment duties
In April, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) announced that it had fined Swindon Town Football Company (STFC) £22,900 for repeatedly failing to comply with its auto-enrolment duties.TPR issued the football club with a compliance notice in August 2014 directing it to auto-enrol eligible staff in a pension scheme and contribute into ...
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Article58% value phased retirement globally
More than half (58%) of global respondents feel that phased retirement is a very or extremely important occupational benefit, according to research by the Aegon Centre for Longevity and Retirement (ACLR) and the Transamerica Centre for Retirement Studies.The A retirement wake-up call: the Aegon retirement readiness survey 2016 report, which ...
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ArticleGovernment consults on British Steel pension scheme
The government has launched a consultation into potential government support options for the British Steel pension scheme.The defined benefit scheme has approximately 130,000 members, with assets and liabilities totalling around £14 billion.The consultation aims to determine the best course of action, if any, that the government could take as part ...
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ArticlePension exit charges under scrutiny
Exit charges on occupational pension schemes could be scrapped as part of new proposals launched by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).The proposals aim to introduce a charging cap to allow employees early access to their retirement funds without suffering high penalty charges.The long-term aim of the proposals is ...
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ArticleScottish Widows completes £54m bulk annuity transaction
Scottish Widow has secured a £54 million pensioner buy-in arrangement with the Barloworld UK Pension Scheme.The buy-in covers a portion of the scheme’s pensioner liability and is a continuation of the global distributor's de-risking strategy.This transaction signals the second bulk annuity transaction for Scottish Widows. The pensions provider secured a ...
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ArticleVolkswagen to increase base pay by 4.8%
Volkswagen is to increase base pay for 120,000 employees by a total of 4.8% by August 2017.The collective agreement, which follows negotiations with trade union IG Metall, will be implemented in two stages; a 2.8% pay rise will occur on 1 September 2016 and a 2% pay increase will come ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: 76% of Oxford BioMedica staff engage with pensions online after benefits revamp
EXCLUSIVE: More than three-quarters (76%) of Oxford BioMedica employees have registered to view their pension online following a revamp of its employee benefits programme.In September 2015, the gene and cell therapy organisation, which employs more than 180 staff, expanded its pension and financial education support offering with the introduction of ...
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ArticleGovernment to legislate for increased master trust protections
The government is to introduce additional measures to protect members of master trust pension schemes through a new Pensions Bill.The Pensions Bill was unveiled in background briefing documents following the Queen’s Speech in the Houses of Parliament yesterday (18 May).Under the proposals, master trusts would be required to demonstrate that ...
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Article32% who opt out of workplace pension blame financial constraints
Around a third (32%) of employee respondents cite financial constraints as the key reason for choosing not to pay into their workplace pension, according to research by Aviva.Its Working lives report, which is based on a survey of 990 private sector employers and 4,021 private sector employees and an analysis ...
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Article40% feel let down by lack of access to financial advice
Four in ten (40%) respondents feel let down if their employer fails to support them with access to advice on their pensions and future finances, according to research by online pension advice provider Wealth Wizards.Its survey of 1,000 UK employees also found that two-thirds (67%) of respondents believe it is ...
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ArticleGovernment launches online pensions tracing service
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a new website to help people locate their pension savings.The new website from the Pension Tracing Service allows users to find information about workplace pension schemes they may have contributed to by entering former employers' details into an online database.The database ...
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ArticleCapital One and Easyjet shortlisted for best pensions communications
Capital One, Easyjet and Nationwide Building Society are among those shortlisted for the Best pensions communications award at the Employee Benefits Awards 2016.This award, sponsored by Aviva and Friends Life, recognises an organisation that has implemented a successful communication strategy that increases employees’ understanding of pensions and reinforces the need ...
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Article38% likely to consider including lifetime Isa in remuneration package
More than a third (38%) of respondents are likely to consider introducing the new lifetime individual savings account (Isa) into their employee remuneration scheme in the future, according to research by law firm Sackers.The survey of 78 employers, trustees and advisors also found that 84% of respondents want to offer ...
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ArticleFTSE350 defined benefit pension deficit hits £92bn
The accounting deficit of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes for the UK’s 350 largest listed organisations reached £92 billion at the end of April 2016, according to research by Mercer.Its Pensions risk survey, which is based on analysis of pension deficits using data from reported financial statements and year end ...
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ArticleAegon to acquire BlackRock’s defined contribution platform
Retirement and workplace savings organisation Aegon has entered into an agreement to acquire BlackRock’s UK defined contribution (DC) platform and administration business.The transaction will see Aegon acquire around 350,000 customers and £12bn of assets, bringing its workplace savings business to approximately £30bn worth of assets under management.Paul Bucksey, head of ...