News – Page 88
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Siemens UK boosts pensions take-up to 98%
EXCLUSIVE: Siemens UK has seen take-up in its pension scheme rise to 98% since its auto-enrolment staging date.Around 1,000 of Siemens UK’s 13,000 employees were not in its trust-based defined contribution (DC) pension before its auto-enrolment staging date of 1 May.The technology business started communicating auto-enrolment to employees during its ...
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BlackRock extends access to target date funds range
BlackRock is to extend access to its range of target date funds to meet a surge in demand arising from the government’s auto-enrolment legislation.Workplace pension schemes that use BlackRock for scheme administration, investment funds and member engagement tools can now access the LifePath range of annual target date funds.These were ...
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Nest to invest in commercial property
The National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) is to add commercial property to its investment strategy. The organisation has awarded Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) two real estate mandates.The mandates are intended to provide access to an asset class capable of delivering long-term and sustainable growth for Nest pension scheme ...
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DWP publishes call for evidence on DC pensions
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has published a call for evidence on how defined contribution (DC) pension schemes are managed, with a view to setting out standards to protect members.The government has asked the industry for evidence on the current state of pension scheme governance, default options, administration ...
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Half of default fund members chose this investment option
Nearly half (49%) of respondents in their defined contribution (DC) pension scheme’s default fund chose to be there and did not actually ‘default’ into it, according to research by State Street Global Advisors, the asset management business of State Street Corporation.Its research, which surveyed 1,002 full-time employees belonging to their ...
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Withers raises pensions take up
EXCLUSIVE: Global law firm Withers has increased its pensions take up after introducing an online flexible benefits plan and re-branding the benefits offering for its 370 UK employees in April.Membership of its group personal pension (GPP) scheme has increased to 85%, from 265 members in December 2012 to 308 members ...
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Civil Aviation Authority launches DB pensions website
The Civil Aviation Authority Pension Scheme (CAAPS) has launched a new website for the 15,000 members of its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.The member-facing website, which includes details of predicted outcome, contributions, benefits, pensioner payslips and online benefit statements, can be accessed online at any time.The project, completed with communications ...
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Debi O'Donovan: How is auto-enrolment doing?
I would encourage as many of you as possible to fill in the online survey. The more employers that complete the survey, the clearer the picture we will all have of what is happening with auto-enrolment.From what we know already, auto-enrolment seems to be rolling out very smoothly. Employee opt-out ...
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Employers segment pensions for auto-enrolment
Such arrangements can be particularly effective for employers that have a diverse workforce.Gary Moore, policy adviser, defined contribution (DC) pensions at the National Association of Pension Funds, said: “It may be that there are different segments [of a scheme] for different parts of a workforce, that different segments have different ...
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Compulsory retirement ‘might still be justified’
On 30 May 2013, the ET ruled on the Leslie Seldon case, which was brought because Seldon was required to retire at age 65 from the partnership of law firm Clarkson Wright and James.But Susan Fanning, head of DLA Piper’s employment team in London, said the case left a number ...
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Steve Webb: How do you get staff to understand how much to save for retirement?
However, people who are not near to retirement tend to prioritise other things above their pension savings. That is why we have introduced the duty on employers to enrol staff into a workplace pension, and are bringing in a flat-rate state pension so people know what they are getting from ...
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Rosemary Lemon: How do you get staff to understand how much to save for retirement?
Most of them, including me, also fancied retiring sometime between immediately and age 65. However, just how much money do you need to be able to live the life you dream of after you have finished working? Sometimes it is better to start backwards.For example, if, like me, you fancy ...
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Kodak pension plan settlement approved
The UK Kodak Pension Plan (KPP) has had its settlement agreement approved by the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.Under the agreement, which was announced on 29 April, Kodak’s personalised imaging (PI) and document imaging (DI) businesses will be spun off under the ownership of KPP.Steven ...
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Auto-enrolment will trigger benefits reviews for SMEs
Auto-enrolment will trigger wider reviews of employee benefits among small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), according to research by MetLife UK.The study, which questioned 500 HR directors from SMEs employing fewer than 250 employees, found 51% of respondents will either definitely or probably review the benefits they offer ahead of auto-enrolling ...
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Fitness First to launch master trust for auto-enrolment
Fitness First has launched a master trust pension scheme to comply with its auto-enrolment duties.The health club group will enrol nearly 700 employees into the scheme, provided by Now: Pensions, on its staging date of 1 August 2013.Neil Tune, HR director at Fitness First, said: “Finding the right partner to ...
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Quarter of employers not satisfied with auto-enrolment product
EXCLUSIVE: More than a quarter (28%) of respondents believe they do not have the right auto-enrolment product in place for their organisation after reaching their staging date, according to research by Benefex.The research, which surveyed 100 employers that have already been through auto-enrolment, found that the top challenge was the ...
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Most employers outsource pension administration
Three-quarters (75%) of respondents outsource the administration of their pension scheme, up from 69% in 2012, according to research by Aon Hewitt.Its 2013 Benefits administration survey, which questioned 361 employers with a combined £97 billion in pension assets and more than two million employees, found that nearly half of the ...
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Jonathan Watts-Lay: Staff must make right choices at retirement
Many people are living longer, which is great news. But, with the removal of many defined benefit (DB) schemes in favour of DC, the onus is now on employees to consider their pension contributions, monitor their pension savings and, of course, choose the most appropriate retirement income option.These decisions are ...
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British Airways pension deficit increases by £100m
British Airways has seen a £100 million increase in the deficit of its two defined benefit (DB) pension schemes since 2010.The combined technical deficit at 31 March 2012 was £3.3 billion, compared to £3.2 billion at 31 March 2010.The increase is due to a reduction in the interest rates used ...
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Durham University launches master trust for pensions auto-enrolment
Durham University has launched a master trust to comply with its pensions auto-enrolment duties.The university introduced the scheme, provided by Now: Pensions in April 2013, enrolling its workforce of support staff in line with its staging date. Janet Robertson, payroll and pensions manager at Durham University, said: “The scheme can ...