Opinion – Page 11
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Opinion
Jamie Jenkins: Auto-enrolment tips from large employers
At school, we often blamed the fictitious ‘big boys’ for everything that happened. With auto-enrolment, we will be glad the big employers did it first, and instead of blaming them, we’ll learn from them.First things first, though: let’s state some obvious ground rules. Employers come in all shapes and sizes, ...
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Opinion
Lynn Graves: Which pension scheme is right for auto-enrolment?
With auto-enrolment well under way, for the first time every employer must offer a pension scheme to staff. As we venture through the next few years, many small to medium-sized organisations are considering workplace pension provision for the first time, raising some challenging questions about the type of scheme to ...
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Opinion
Peter Murphy: Landmark ruling for DB schemes and sponsor
The ruling by the Supreme Court in the Nortel and Lehman versus The Pensions Regulator (TPR) case has been hailed as a landmark decision with significant consequences for lenders and the restructuring community. But is it as important for trustees of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes and their sponsors? At ...
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Opinion
Malcolm McLean: Younger staff should pay more attention to pensions
Worrying what their financial standing might be in 40 or 50 years’ time is not something you would have thought would trouble most young people unduly.Although one recent poll did suggest there is a growing anxiety among some in their 20s about possible income shortfalls and healthcare problems for their ...
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Opinion
Richard Fleet: High auto-enrolment contributions disadvantagous
I refer to your article Calculating the cost of auto-enrolment (August 2013).The summary opines that: “An investment is being made, so employers should make sure that there is value in that investment by communicating with, and educating, employees.”I have to take issue with this. There is no question of this ...
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Opinion
Rachel Brougham: Employers need to consider auto-enrolment costs
If these are not available, employers will start to incur costs in cleaning up their data and deciding what contributions to pay. But, as so many commentators have pointed out, auto-enrolment is not just a pensions problem.For example, Whitbread recently reported having spent more than £1 million on implementation alone. ...
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Opinion
John Chilman: How can employers see a return from pensions?
It’s sad, as a pensions manager, that inertia is the main thing responsible for the boom in pension savings, but ultimately inevitable, when the engaged have already joined or taken the active decision to opt out.So now we’re faced with the challenge of articulating the value of a benefit to ...
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Opinion
Jamie Clark: Consultancy charge ban might cause opt-outs
Employers that are unwilling or unable to pay an explicit fee to a ?nancial adviser will not bene?t from the advice and support that advisers can bring, which could restrict the choice of provider.This could lead to worse member outcomes due to restricted investment choice, lack of workplace marketing material ...
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Opinion
Stephen J. Perkins: Employers view auto-enrolment as call to action
The legislation is being phased in, starting with large organisations and applying to small employers over the next few years.From the evidence my team collected for the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) Annual reward survey, published in May 2013, employers are highly exercised by auto-enrolment.The respondent sample, which ...
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Opinion
Claire Curtin: Ensure investments are managed responsibly
Many schemes also offer an ethical fund option for members. With the shift from defined benefit (DB) to defined contribution (DC) schemes, staff should be allowed to ensure their investments are managed in a socially and environmentally responsible way.Responsible investment overall does not have to be just through an ethical ...
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Opinion
Chris Judge: Lifetime pension allowance limits changing
Members’ pension administrator will only be able to tell them whether they are nearing the lifetime limit in their current scheme, but benefits from all other schemes, both workplace and personal pensions, need to be taken into account when considering the lifetime allowance, which was introduced on 6 April 2006. ...
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Opinion
Pádraig Floyd: A pension warning for employers on 'pot follows member'
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has now published details of rules to govern what must happen to an employee’s pension when they leave an employer. This regulation, generally referred to as ‘pot follows member’, makes provision for any pension pots of less than £10,000 to transfer with the ...
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Opinion
Gary Moore: Consultancy charge ban will cause problems
When the Financial Services Authority (FSA) launched its retail distribution review in 2006, it promised to make sure charges for advice were transparent and fair. As a result, the FSA banned charging by commission but allowed pension plans to take consultancy charges from individuals’ pension pots as long as they ...
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Opinion
Mark Baker: Employers must respect staff attitudes to pension fund risk
Among most employers, it is conventional to use lifestyle or target date funds. For younger workers, the money is held in equities, then over time it is switched into bonds and cash. Often the member can nominate a planned retirement date and the lifestyling switches are geared towards that date; ...
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Opinion
Liz Hunter: Online portals are a must-have
This doesn’t seem to reflect the trend among businesses large and small towards online communication with their staff, and certainly doesn’t fit with our experience at RM2, which indicates interest in branded web portals for share plans is rising.Allowing staff to access their benefits on one comprehensive intranet or microsite ...
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Opinion
Mel Duffield: Staff need support when buying an annuity
This is the point at which the employee’s pension pot is at its largest and when they stand to lose the most, both from their own and their employer’s pension contributions, by making a poor decision or simply failing to act. Reaching retirement and purchasing an annuity is a one-off ...
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Opinion
Jamie Fiveash: Use simple language for auto-enrolment
As providers, we can, and should, help by giving employers a variety of methods to communicate with staff.For example, we provide an employer toolkit that includes bespoke posters and a short animation explaining the basics about auto-enrolment, using simple, engaging everyday language. Some of our customers have a significant proportion ...
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Opinion
Mark Baker: Steps to make auto-enrolment easier
First, decide early on a pension provider. Do not delay this decision because there are fears of a capacity crunch among providers in 2013 and 2014. If employers leave it too long, they will find it harder to negotiate contract terms and management fees, because providers will know they have ...
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Opinion
Henry Tapper: Auto-enrolment will continue to dominate
Auto-enrolment will dominate the pensions market in 2013, but for the 550,000 people reaching what we used to call ‘normal’ retirement dates, the future looks bleak.There may be some easement in interest rates as the impact of quantitative easing wears off, but annuity rates are likely to remain at historic ...
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Opinion
Will Aitken: Auto-enrolment will continue to dominate in 2013
Auto-enrolment will continue to dominate the UK pensions agenda in 2013. Opt out rates will dramatically undershoot the 30% estimates that have been estimated as inertia proves to be a strong force.Employers selecting pension providers in the second half of 2013 will find that it is no longer a buyers’ ...