All Pensions articles – Page 137
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Article
Gerald Eve sees increase in pensions take-up
Gerald Eve has seen an 11% increase in its pension membership and almost a quarter (24%) of employees have increased their pension contributions since it introduced a workplace savings platform in May.The platform, which is provided by Hargreaves Lansdown, provides the national firm of chartered surveyors and property consultants’ employees ...
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Article
PQM to explore setting standard for default funds
The Pension Quality Mark (PQM) is to explore setting tough new minimum standards for default investment funds.The PQM, which is a benchmark for good-quality defined contribution (DC) pension schemes, was introduced by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) in 2009.It wants to add default funds to its list of ...
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Article
The Pensions Trust consults on DB pension closure
The Pensions Trust is consulting with employees about closing its career average defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to future accrual.The consultation began on 1 July and will run until the end of September.The scheme has been closed to new joiners for the past two years.If it is closed, the scheme’s ...
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Article
DHL consults on DB pension closure
DHL is consulting on the closure of its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to future accrual.The scheme, which covers around 3,500 employees, is scheduled to be closed at the end of 2013.Its Voyager defined contribution (DC) pension scheme, which covers 16,000 employees, will not be affected by the consultation. Employees ...
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Article
LEBC Group auto-enrols staff one year early
LEBC Group has auto-enrolled its workforce almost a year before its staging date.The independent financial advice firm and employee benefits consultancy opted to auto-enrol on 1 July 2013, rather than 1 May 2014, to ensure it fully understood, from practical experience, the actual issues its employer clients’ HR and finance ...
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Article
TPR launches guides on choosing pensions for auto-enrolment
The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has launched a suite of new guides to help employers with limited pensions experience select a good-quality pension scheme for auto-enrolment.An employer’s guide to selecting a good-quality pension scheme for automatic-enrolment helps employers evaluate whether a scheme is well run, offers value for money and protects ...
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Article
Best and worst pension annuity providers revealed
The Association of British Insurers’ (ABI) Annuity Window comparison tool has found that there is a 31% difference between best and worst conventional annuity rates.The tool, which is compulsory for all ABI members selling annuities to the public, also found (based on a level annuity for a 65-year-old man, living ...
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Article
University of St Andrews launches master trust
The University of St Andrews has launched a master trust to comply with its auto-enrolment duties.It has appointed Now: Pensions to provide the scheme for its 460 eligible employees, who were auto-enrolled on the university’s staging date of 1 July 2013.The University of St Andrews is the second university to ...
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Article
ABI launches annuity initiative
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) is to publish specimen annuity rates offered by its members to highlight the importance of shopping around for the best deal when it comes to buying an annuity.The publication is part of the ABI’s Code of conduct on retirement choices, which was launched in ...
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Article
L&G sees 5% auto-enrolment opt out
EXCLUSIVE: Legal and General has only seen 5%, 11 of 207, auto-enrolled employees opt out since its staging date on 1 April.Prior to staging, 700 employees were in a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme that is closed to future accrual and all but 207 of the remainder of its 7,500 ...
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ArticleYoung people could lose £100,000 on pensions
Young people who delay saving for a pension until they reach middle age could lose up to £100,000 in employer pension contributions and tax relief, according to research by pension consultancy Barnett Waddingham.The research found that a 25-year-old, earning £25,000 per year, who delays joining a generous workplace pension scheme ...
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Article
More than £35bn paid into FTSE 350 pensions
FTSE 350 organisations have paid more than £35 billion into their pension schemes over the last three years with little effect on overall deficits, according to research by pension consultancy Barnett Waddingham.The research, which highlights the impact defined benefit (DB) pension schemes are having on FTSE 350 organisations, found that ...
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Article
Lifting Nest restrictions should create a level playing field
The pensions industry, including Nest, has widely supported the move. Logan Anderson, head of customer relations at The Pensions Trust, said: “The removal of Nest’s restrictions is a good thing, because these act as a barrier to encourage greater savings among employers and their employees. [Prior to lifting the restrictions] ...
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Analysis
How to review a default investment fund
If you read nothing else, read this …Default funds should be reviewed about once a year.Reviews should start by looking at the profile of the membership and the objectives of the fund.Employers should also examine the market to see what types of investment fund are available.David Harris, managing director at ...
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ArticleAuto-enrolment opt-out rates as expected
David Tildesley, director of client partnerships at Capita Employee Benefits, said: “When the project first started for auto-enrolment, all sorts of financial modelling assumptions were made by employers. They started off with assumptions of opt-outs of around 50% of the workforce, but I don’t think any of them ended up ...
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AnalysisCalculating the cost of auto-enrolment
If you read nothing else, read this ….Employers should complete a cost-impact assessment to determine their expected costs.With increasing contributions, ongoing administration and penalties for non-compliance, employers should be prepared for short-term and long-term costs.An investment is being made, so make sure there is value in that investment by communicating ...
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Article
Auto-enrolled employers likely to contribute less
The research, conducted among 370 HR and benefits managers, found 21% of those that have auto-enrolled staff are paying in a 1% pension contribution, but only 7% of those still to auto-enrol pay in at this low level.In turn, 23% of those still to auto-enrol pay in a 5% employer ...
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ArticleGroup personal pensions most popular among employers
Almost half of the respondents (48%) to the Employee Benefits/Capita Pensions Research 2013 still offer a group personal pension (GPP) as their primary pension plan.This is in line with Employee Benefits’ 2011 pensions research, in which 54% of respondents said a GPP was their primary plan choice. Similarly, GPPs were ...
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Article84% of DC pensions have a default option
The vast majority (84%) of respondents with a defined contribution (DC) pension scheme offer their workforce a default investment option, according to Employee Benefits/Capita Pensions Research 2013.The research, conducted among 370 HR and benefits managers, found that just 16% of respondents that offer a DC plan do not.A default investment ...
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Article57% pass on responsibility for default funds
Over half of respondents (57%) hand over responsibility for their default fund to their pension provider or financial adviser, according to the Employee Benefits/Capita Pensions Research 2013.The survey, conducted among 370 HR and benefits managers, found that 29% rely on their adviser and 28% put their trust in their pensions ...