All Pensions articles – Page 113
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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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AnalysisHow to maximise savings from tax-efficient employee benefits
If you read nothing else, read this…Salary sacrifice arrangements can increase employee engagement with benefits.Employers can use NI savings from salary sacrifice arrangements to help fund pensions auto-enrolment, introduce new benefits, or cover the cost of benefits technology.It is important to communicate the value of tax-efficient benefits to employees.These savings ...
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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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Analysis
Martin Palmer: What lies beneath auto-enrolment?
Auto-enrolment is on course to breathe new life into pension saving. But what hidden factors could affect its fate, and how can employers set their scheme apart? As the focus of auto-enrolment shifts from large organisations in low numbers to smaller businesses in high volumes, a picture is already emerging ...
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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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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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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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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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AnalysisDale Critchley: Budget pension changes have positive impact for employers
So what does this watershed moment mean for the future of workplace pensions? There is little doubt that for employees, coming so soon after the introduction of auto-enrolment, it is another positive. But what about the possible benefits for employers?Common threadsThere are two themes running through the recent reforms. First ...
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OpinionThibault Jeakings: DC pension governance to beef up schemes
As well as significantly beefing up defined contribution (DC) schemes’ governance requirements, the proposals also clamp down on the costs of auto-enrolment schemes with a 0.75% cap on administration charges and a ban on additional charges for deferred members and commission payments.The proposals are a reaction to the six to ...
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Video
VIDEO: Lawrence Cramer: How to manage auto-enrolment on a small budget
brightcove.createExperiences();Employers should identify the budget they have for pensions auto-enrolment at the very beginning of the process, said Lawrence Cramer (pictured), head of HR at the YHA, during an interview with Clare Bettelley, associate editor of Employee Benefits.He said: “As ...
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AnalysisHow are The Pensions Regulator’s quality assurance steps useful for employers?
If you read nothing else, read this…The Pensions Regulator’s code of practice sets out six principles and 31 quality features.The code is useful to help employers meet pension governance requirements.TPR expects pension schemes to comply with the code.The code may need to be rewritten to accommodate new measures introduced by ...
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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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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 ...