News – Page 73
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ArticleChris Curry: What is the effect of the delayed pension charges cap?
For example, the difference between a 0.5% annual management charge (AMC) and a 1% AMC, everything else being equal, can mean a difference of £12,800. This is in terms that can be compared to today’s earnings in the amount paid out in charges over a full working life for a ...
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Expedia aligns flex and auto-enrolment
EXCLUSIVE: Expedia postponed its auto-enrolment staging date by three months to align it with the launch of a new flexible benefits scheme.The organisation had planned to introduce a flexible benefits scheme for some time, but saw the impending auto-enrolment requirements as an ideal opportunity to roll both out at the ...
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ArticlePension membership increases to 50%
Participation in pensions increased in 2013 for the first time since 2006, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).Its 2013 Annual survey of hours and earnings: summary of pension results, found that the proportion of employees who belong to a workplace pension increased from 47% to 50% ...
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ArticleChristopher Stiles: What is the effect of the delayed pension charges cap?
That is not to say there is anything wrong with the aim, which is to help ensure that the schemes employers are providing for their employees represent value for money, although a cap on charges is a simplistic solution to that problem.Employers do not have a strong commercial motivation to ...
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West Ham FC auto-enrols three-millionth UK worker
West Ham United Football Club auto-enrolled the UK’s three-millionth worker into a workplace pension scheme.The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) latest Automatic-enrolment registration report from TPR showed that more than three million employees are now saving into a pension scheme through auto-enrolment, with the three-millionth worker employed by the Premier League club.Since ...
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ArticleLloyds to revise pensionable pay cap
Lloyds Banking Group is to revise its pensionable pay cap for around 35,000 employees who are members of its six defined benefit (DB) pension schemes.Following a consultation with employees and unions in November 2013, the bank will revise the current cap on the increase in pensionable pay from 2% to ...
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Boeing to move staff to DC pension
Boeing is to move 68,000 US-based employees into a new defined contribution (DC) component of its defined benefit (DB) pension from January 2016.The US aerospace organisation has reached a deal with unions to move its non-unionised employees in its 401(k) plan into an employer-funded DC pension.All benefits earned in the ...
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ArticleLongevity biggest issue impacting pensions saving
The creation of a savings culture is necessary in order to overcome the impact of longevity on lives and savings, such as the amount employees put aside for retirement.Speaking at the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) Investment Conference on 5 March, Larry Fink, chairman and chief executive officer of ...
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ArticleJohn Lewis staff share £203m bonus payout
Around 91,000 John Lewis Partnership employees are to share a bonus payout of £202.5 million.Employees will receive 15% of their average salary, equivalent to eight weeks’ pay, just two percentage points lower than last year’s 17% bonus payout.The retail giant, which includes John Lewis and Waitrose, set out the bonus ...
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Rolls-Royce to launch deferred bonus plan
Rolls-Royce has reduced the deficit of its defined benefit (DB) pension schemes and is to launch a deferred shares bonus plan for executive directors and senior managers.Its Annual financial report showed that, during 2013, the net deficit of the pension schemes fell by £49 million, principally due to the movements ...
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ArticleCoca-Cola signs up to staff engagement initiative
Coca-Cola Enterprises and Telent are among the employers that have signed up for a new employee engagement initiative.The initiative, which was launched by Standard Life, aims to develop the most effective means of employee engagement in a post-auto-enrolment world.It includes a range of messaging campaigns available for all employers with ...
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ArticlePension contributions should begin before age 22
Nearly half (45%) of respondents believe people should begin contributing towards a pension before they reach the age of 22 to ensure they have a comfortable retirement, according to research by software and services organisation Sage.Its research, which surveyed 2,040 UK adults, found that six out of 10 respondents expect ...
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Premier Foods rejigs pensions deficit payment
Premier Foods is to restructure the deficit contribution schedule covering its eight defined benefit (DB) pension schemes as part of a larger capital restructure.In its full year results for the year to 31 December 2013, the foods producer, which owns brands such as Ambrosia, Hovis, Oxo and Sharwood’s, stated that ...
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ArticlePete Strudwick: What is the effect of the delayed pension charges cap?
It is important that this complex issue is given the proper consideration, but continued uncertainty creates challenges for employers and continues to knock confidence in pension saving among employees.For larger employers, the delay has less impact. We have about 5,700 employees and our scheme’s charges are already competitive. We negotiated ...
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ArticlePension drawdown changes take effect
A number of changes to the UK pension system, which were announced in the Budget 2014 on 19 March, take effect on 27 March, with the publication of the Finance Bill 2014.In the Budget 2014, Chancellor George Osborne (pictured) announced greater flexibility in the way employees retiring with defined contribution ...
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ArticleTPR and FCA launch DC pension regulatory guide
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have published a joint guide that sets out how they will regulate workplace defined contribution (DC) pensions.The Guide to the regulation of workplace defined contribution pensions, which is aimed at pension providers, advisers and trustees, outlines each regulator’s approach, and ...
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ArticleCompulsory pensions annuitisation scrapped
Employees will no longer have to purchase an annuity to convert their pension pot into retirement income, under new measures announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the 2014 Budget.From April 2015, DC members will have the choice of taking their pension wealth as a lump sum, drawdown, or an annuity.In ...
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ArticleGovernment to ban public sector pension transfers
The government is to ban employees from transferring out of public sector defined benefit (DB) pension schemes under proposals announced by Chancellor George Osborne in the Budget 2014.This coincides with the government’s announcement of a radical overhaul of defined contribution (DC) pensions in the UK, which will enable anyone aged ...
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ArticleTrivial commutation limits to increase
The government has increased the trivial commutation limits, from £18,000 to £30,000.Trivial commutation is the opportunity, offered by pension providers, to convert 100% of a small pension into a one-off cash payment.The cash received is known as a trivial commutation lump sum.In the 2014 Budget, Chancellor George Osborne announced that ...
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ArticlePersonal allowance increase could impact auto-enrolment eligibility
The increase in the personal allowance to £10,500 a year could mean fewer employees are automatically enrolled into a workplace pension scheme.The increase, announced in the Budget 2014 by Chancellor George Osborne, will take effect from April 2015.Consequently, the average basic-rate taxpayer will pay £805 less income tax per year ...