News – Page 72
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Article
Dunelm underpaid auto-enrolment pension contributions by £143,000
Dunelm Soft Furnishings underpaid pension contributions due under auto-enrolment by £143,000, according to The Pension Regulator’s (TPR) first automatic-enrolment section 89 report, which highlights key lessons to help employers avoid non-compliance.Dunelm reached its auto-enrolment staging date on 1 April 2013 and was due to complete registration, indicating that it had ...
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ArticleEU workers to enjoy transferable pension rights
Employees in the European Union (EU) that move to a different EU country will be able to take their full pension rights with them after a draft law was passed by the European Parliament.Under current EU rules, employees that move between countries do not lose their statutory pension rights, such ...
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ArticleCharles Counsell: How will the auto-enrolment 'capacity crunch' affect medium to large employers?
I have seen it reported that pension providers have some concerns about their ability to meet demand and service existing clients. Punch the term ‘capacity crunch’ used in connection to ‘pensions’ into an online search engine and you’ll probably find, as I did, 11,000 suggested links.But this heavy traffic hitting ...
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ArticleAverage auto-enrolment opt outs are 9% to 10%
The proportion of employees who have opted out of a workplace pension scheme after auto-enrolment stands at between 9% and 10%, according to research by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).Its Employers’ pension provision survey 2013: preliminary findings, which surveyed 3,079 employers, found that opt-out rates were lower among ...
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ArticleDiane Lightfoot: How will the auto-enrolment 'capacity crunch' affect medium to large employers?
With a large number of small and medium-sized employers due to go through the same process, organisations can get the expert support they need to avoid the ‘capacity crunch’.Employers should carefully plan well in advance. It made a huge impact on the success of our project. This included assessing the ...
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ArticleCourt rules IBM breached employer duties in pensions restructure
The High Court has ruled that technology organisation IBM has breached its duties to members of its UK pension schemes in the way in which it implemented a restructuring of their pension arrangements.The ruling, in the case IBM vs Dagleish, is of particular interest to employers that are, or have ...
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Article28% used flex plan to manage auto-enrolment
However, nearly half of employers that offer flexible benefits did not use their flex plan to manage the implementation of auto-enrolment.Of those that still need to auto-enrol staff, 22% plan to manage the process separately from their flexible benefits plan.Read more of the Employee Benefits Flexible benefits research 2014
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ArticleThird of auto-enrolled employers would approach compliance differently
More than a third (35%) of respondents that have been through pensions auto-enrolment would have approached their preparations differently if they were to undertake the task again, according to research by law firm Irwin Mitchell.Its research, which surveyed 260 employers, found that 52% of those that have staged wished they ...
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ArticlePension charges cap could level up low charges
Some scheme members currently benefit from annual management charges (AMCs) well below the 0.75% cap that will be imposed on auto-enrolment workplace schemes from April 2015.Marcus Fink, a partner at law firm Ashurst, said: “The 0.75% cap is a safe figure. I think it possibly could have come down lower, ...
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ArticleTrustees unaware of DB pension investment charges
Nearly a quarter (23%) of trustees of private sector defined benefit (DB) pension schemes could not identify what they were paying in investment charges, even though these represent the second largest expense for such schemes, according to research by The Pensions Regulator (TPR).Its Defined benefit scheme running costs research 2014, ...
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ArticleGovernment extends pension decision period
Employees who have recently taken a tax-free lump sum from their defined contribution (DC) pension scheme will be given a further 18 months to decide what they wish to do with the rest of their retirement savings.Under current tax rules, once a tax-free lump sum has been taken, individuals have ...
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Article73% expect to change DC pension scheme investment
Nearly three-quarters (73%) of respondents expect to change their pension schemes’ investment options, in order to offer members a combination of cash and income-generating strategies, according to research by Aon Hewitt.Its research, which polled more than 200 pension managers, trustees and finance directors, focused on the impact of the Budget’s ...
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ArticleMatching pension contributions rise in popularity
The number of pension schemes offering matching pension contributions for members has risen by around 100% in the past 10 years, according to research by Towers Watson.Its FTSE 350 DC pensions survey 2014, which questioned 98 FTSE 100 and 241 FTSE 350 companies, found that 75% of respondents now offer ...
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Article25% would buy an annuity at retirement
Only 25% of respondents would use most or all of their pension pot to buy an annuity when they retire, according to research by Hymans Robertson.Its research, which surveyed 1,000 current members of defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, found that 31% of respondents would not buy an annuity, but would ...
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Article19% of women have no pension savings
Nearly a fifth (19%) of women within five years of retirement do not have any private pension savings, according to research by LV=.Its State of retirement report 2014, which surveyed 1,538 British adults over the age of 50, found that just 12% of men have no retirement savings and will ...
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ArticleUK universities offered access to master trust arrangement
Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh are among the employers that have been given access to a master trust framework.The Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC) managed a tender process for more than 200 institutions in the UK’s higher and further education sector.A large number of university and ...
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ArticleTalkTalk and Warburtons shortlisted for auto-enrolment
TalkTalk Group and Warburtons are among the employers that have been shortlisted for the award ‘Best pensions auto-enrolment strategy – small employer’ at the Employee Benefits Awards 2014.This award recognises employers that maximised the opportunities offered by the need to comply with auto-enrolment legislation, and that demonstrated how these actions ...
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ArticleSMEs still not ready for pensions auto-enrolment
More than half (58%) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) surveyed have yet to set up a pension scheme to comply with auto-enrolment legislation, according to research by AutoenrolSME.The pensions auto-enrolment service, which was developed in partnership with payroll provider Quartz Payroll, conducted research among 200 UK organisations with between ...
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ArticleE.On and McDonald’s shortlisted for auto-enrolment
E.On and McDonald’s Restaurants are among the employers that have been shortlisted for the award ‘Best pensions auto-enrolment strategy – large employer’ at the Employee Benefits Awards 2014.This award recognises employers that maximised the opportunities offered by the need to comply with auto-enrolment legislation, and that demonstrated how these actions ...
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ArticleThe Bar Council launches master trust
The Bar Council has introduced a master trust pension to ensure each Chambers comply with their auto-enrolment requirements.The master trust, known as YourWorkplacePension, links to provider Close Brothers Asset Management’s (CBAM) auto-enrolment platform, CloseToMyPension.This enables CBAM to manage all of the complexities of auto-enrolment on behalf of each Chamber, including ...