News – Page 93
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Nest to launch auto-enrolment guidance site
The National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) is to launch an auto-enrolment website giving guidance for employers and advisers on 6 May 2013.The online help centre will include:Information on employer duties, including employer guides.Guidance to help with employer preparation and online set-up of a Nest pension.Information about the key tasks of ...
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Stansted Airport staff given new pensions
Manchester Airports Group (MAG) has launched two new pension schemes for the 1,200 London Stansted airport employees who became part of the organisation following an acquisition in February 2013.The arrangements, a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme and a trust-based defined contribution (DC) pension plan, have been designed to replicate the ...
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Bromford Group closes career-average pension
EXCLUSIVE: Bromford Group has closed its career-average revalued earnings (Care) pension scheme to new members as it streamlines its pension offering and focuses on communicating auto-enrolment to staff.The social housing organisation previously had five pension schemes available to its 1,300 staff, comprising two local government pensions, two defined benefit (DB) ...
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More DC pension savers than DB pension savers
More people save into defined contribution (DC) pension schemes than defined benefit (DB) pension plans in the UK, according to figures by the Office for National Statistics.Its Pension trends, chapter 10: saving for retirement, 2013 edition showed that in 2008/2010, for UK households with pension savings, 46% saved into a ...
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DWP confirms small pots transfers
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has confirmed its plans to make it easier for employees to take their workplace pension scheme with them when moving jobs.Its pot-follows-member model, which was first published in July 2012, will mean that over an employee’s working life any pension pots of less ...
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Tesco to launch pensions annuity comparison service
Tesco is planning to add a pensions annuity service to its existing Tesco Compare price comparison website.The service will enable pension savers that are approaching retirement to shop around for the annuity that pays the highest income.Tesco does not plan to sell own-brand products, but will introduce users to UK ...
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Telegraph Media Group increases pension AVCs
The Telegraph Media Group has seen a 34% rise in the proportion of employees making additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) to its pension scheme since it launched personalised communications for its employees.It issued a personalised newsletter to the 1,000 members of its trust-based defined contribution (DC) pension scheme at the beginning ...
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Close Brothers launches default pension investment funds with Scottish Widows
Financial services provider Close Brothers Asset Management (CBAM) has launched a range of default investment funds in partnership with Scottish Widows. The SW Close Governed Portfolio Funds range builds on CBAM’s existing corporate pension products, with the aim of making workplace pension investing as simple and as affordable as possible.All ...
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HMRC confirms VAT payable on contract-based pensions
Consultants that advise and assist employers with the setting up and administration of contract-based defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, including group personal pension (GPP) plans, stakeholder schemes and group self-invested personal pensions, must charge standard-rate value-added tax (VAT) to employers on services provided to them in return for consultancy charges ...
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Mills and Reeve streamlines three pension schemes
EXCLUSIVE: Mills and Reeve has streamlined its three pension schemes ahead of its October 2013 auto-enrolment staging date.In March 2012, the law firm began a review of its pension provision and opted to streamline its three defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, one stakeholder and two group personal pension (GPP) plans, ...
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Sainsbury’s looks to close DB pension scheme
Sainsbury’s has launched a two-month consultation with staff on proposals to close its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to future accrual.The scheme was closed to new entrants in 2002. The proposed changes will affect less than 10% of the supermarket chain’s 150,000 UK employees.Sainsbury’s also offers all its employees access ...
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JLT launches defined benefit pension investment platform
JLT Employee Benefits has launched an investment platform to provide investment management options to trustees of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes. The JLT Investment Platform provides manager research and selection, transition management, investment reporting, asset allocation and solvency management on a bundled or standalone basis.Other aspects of the platform include:Bulk ...
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Defined benefit pension schemes reduce exposure to equities
Defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are relying less on equities for generating growth, according to research by Aon Hewitt.The UK findings of the consultancy’s Global pension risk survey 2013, which questioned more than 240 DB pension schemes representing around £300 billion in assets, showed that 41% of respondents expect to ...
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Aegon launches auto-enrolment investment range
Aegon UK has launched a new range of pension investment funds that can be used as default funds.The range, which includes eight lifestyle funds, is available on the Aegon Retirement Choices (ARC) platform. This includes a default fund, called the Aegon’s MI Workplace Savings (M) fund.Investment management firm BlackRock have ...
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Phones 4U sets plan for auto-enrolment
Phones 4U has chosen its pensions auto-enrolment product to comply with its staging date of 1 May 2013.The mobile retailer will use Staffcare’s Auto-Enrolment Portal to enrol its 5,000 UK employees into a group personal pension (GPP) plan with Aegon.Its pension advisers, Close Brothers, will manage the employer’s day-to-day auto-enrolment ...
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Employers want default retirement age reinstated
Nearly half (47%) of respondents would like to see the default retirement age (DRA) reinstated, according to research by global law firm Eversheds.The DRA was scrapped in October 2011, after a phase-out that began in April.The research, which was conducted among 307 employers, found that fewer than 3% of respondents ...
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KFC launches total reward platform
EXCLUSIVE: Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), part of Yum! brands, has launched an online total reward platform for its 10,000 employees, a flexible benefits scheme for its 1,000 salaried employees, and will roll out a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme for its 9,000 weekly-paid staff to comply with its auto-enrolment obligations.The ...
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EIOPA publishes research on default investment funds
Default investment funds are used by only 50% of members’ pension schemes, according to research by the European Insurance and Occupational Pensions Authority (EIOPA).The survey, which was conducted as a follow-up to EIOPA’s advice to the European Commission on the review of institutions for occupational retirement provision (Iorps), looked into ...
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DOD’s blog: What did Thatcherism do for employee benefits?
In a week when everyone is reflecting on Margaret Thatcher’s legacy, I have decided to take a quick look at which employee benefits were launched into the workplace during her time as prime minister.Those in the world of pensions and benefits may have already been reminded that group personal pensions ...
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Many SMEs unaware of auto-enrolment
More than half (56%) of small and medium-sized employers (SMEs) surveyed said they do not know what auto-enrolment is or are not aware how it applies to their organisation, according to research by RSM Tenon.The RSM Tenon business barometer, a quarterly survey carried out by YouGov among organisations with between ...