All Pensions articles – Page 154
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Analysis
Expert tips on surviving pensions auto-enrolment
If you read nothing else, read this…The first organisations to reach their staging date for auto-enrolment have had to make both expected and unexpected changes to their systems.Planning for auto-enrolment should begin well in advance to allow time to tackle any issues that may arise.Communicating with staff about changes is ...
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Article
Auto-enrolment anomalies warning
Organisations that use contractors must identify whether such people are contractors or should be treated as workers for legal purposes. If they are classed as workers, they will need to be auto-enrolled into the organisation’s pension scheme.Mark Baker, senior associate at law firm Pinsent Masons, said: “There was a recent ...
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AnalysisAre payroll providers up to the pensions auto-enrolment task?
If you read nothing else, read this…Employers have high expectations of their payroll providers ahead of auto-enrolment.Employers must have a clear understanding of the auto-enrolment requirements they have for their payroll provider.Payroll providers face the challenge of preparing for both auto-enrolment and real-time information (RTI).Auto-enrolment has arrived and, as implementation ...
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Article
600,000 more pension savers by Christmas
Around 600,000 more people will be saving into a workplace pension scheme by the end of 2012 and following the implementation of auto-enrolment legislation, according to figures by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).It also estimated that, by May 2015, the number of people saving for retirement will be ...
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Article
Scottish Widows launches auto- enrolment product
Scottish Widows has launched an auto-enrolment product to help employers of all sizes comply with the incoming auto-enrolment legislation.AssistMe, which is powered by technology by SBC Systems, will enable employers to add other pension schemes, such as The People’s Pension or the national employment savings trust (Nest), alongside Scottish Widows’ ...
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Article
Ashmore Group raises pensions take-up with wrap
Ashmore Group has seen a 43% increase in the number of staff making voluntary contributions to their pension schemes since the launch of a corporate wrap.The Corporate Vantage scheme, provided by Hargreaves Lansdown, was introduced to replace the investment management firm’s existing group self-invested personal pension (Sipp) arrangement.Employees are able ...
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Article
Thomsons Online Benefits launches auto-enrolment service
EXCLUSIVE: Thomsons Online Benefits has launched an auto-enrolment service for employers.The service provides employers with the employee benefits providers’ Darwin technology, which can conduct assessment of employees’ pension eligibility and then auto-enrol them into the pension scheme.It also includes:Consultancy support on preparing for the changes and restructuring an employer’s reward ...
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Article
DWP launches consultation on auto-enrolment thresholds
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) has launched a consultation on the auto-enrolment thresholds for 2013/2014.The consultation comes as the UK’s largest employers prepare to auto-enrol their staff into workplace pension schemes.It sets out the revision factors that the secretary of state may take into account in the annual ...
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Article
Mears Group prepares for auto-enrolment
Social housing repairs and maintenance provider Mears Group is to launch a super trust pension scheme in preparation for its auto-enrolment staging date of 1 March 2013.The People’s Pension, provided by B&CE, will be available to the organisation’s 10,000 employees.Andrew Smith, finance director at Mears Group, said: “We have chosen ...
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Article
Jelf launches auto-enrolment guides
EXCLUSIVE: Jelf Employee Benefits has launched a series of guides to help employers navigate the changing landscape of pensions in the UK.The series, Making sense of workplace pension reforms, reflects the nine sections of The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) guidance for professional advisers.It is designed to make the topics accessible for ...
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Article
World’s largest pension funds grew by less than 2% in 2011
Total assets of the world’s largest 300 pension funds grew by less than 2% in 2011, according to research by Towers Watson and US investment newspaper Pensions and Investments.The P&I/Towers Watson global 300 research found that the growth in assets in 2011 was the lowest since 2003, except for a ...
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Article
UK directors' average pension pot is $4.3m
Directors of the UK’s FTSE 100 companies have built up pension pots worth an average of £4.3 million, according to research by the Trades Union Congress (TUC).The tenth annual PensionsWatch survey, which analysed the pension arrangements of 351 directors from FTSE 100 companies, found that the average transfer value for ...
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Opinion
Helen Dean: Time for change
This industry forum is supplied by Nest.With the major changes happening to workplace pensions from October, it is important that employers of all sizes start thinking about their own arrangements as soon as possible, because it can take up to 18 months to prepare.They will need to consider everything from ...
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Article
Premier launches auto-enrolment product
Pensions and actuarial firm Premier has launched a product to help employers manage their auto-enrolment obligations.The Premier Auto-enrolment Manager (PAM) can be tailored to suit any size of organisation. It can also be adapted to work with multiple pension schemes and can interface with all payroll systems.Paul Couchman, managing director ...
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Opinion
Susan Jones: How many default funds?
Offering a choice of default funds to pension scheme members rather defeats their purpose. Defaults are for those who do not want to make any choice about investment, do not feel capable of doing it or think that someone is doing it for them. One of the painful facts about ...
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Article
Debi O'Donovan: DC needs careful attention
I am very pleased to see the debate about pension charges hitting the headlines. Not only because we desperately need transparency on annual management charges to avoid a future mis-selling scandal, but also because it means defined contribution (DC) schemes are finally getting more attention.As Lee Hollingworth, head of DC ...
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Article
Fund choices must be more flexible
Employers should consider how to build flexibility into the fund choices available through their pension schemes, to help employees optimise their retirement income, said Tim Taylor, head of group reward at Tui Travel.Speaking at Employee Benefits Live, Taylor, said the removal of the default retirement age (DRA) meant that a ...
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Article
UK workers unaware of auto-enrolment
More than half (52%) of respondents are unaware of the incoming auto-enrolment legislation, according to research by Scottish Widows.The Scottish Widows Workplace pensions report 2012 found that awareness is particularly poor among employees on an income of under £20,000 per annum, with only a third conscious of the upcoming changes.Of ...
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Article
KFC prepares for pensions auto-enrolment
EXCLUSIVE: Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), part of Yum! Brands, will create an online learning module for staff to provide information about the impending auto-enrolment legislation.The module is the first step in a full review of the restaurant chain’s group personal pension (GPP) plan, auto-enrolment technology and communications strategy.The module will ...
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Article
Tui Travel reviews pension ahead of auto-enrolment
Tui Travel is consulting about moving its primary trust-based defined contribution (DC) pension scheme to a contract-based arrangement.The project, on which KPMG is advising, is part of its preparation involved ahead of Tui’s March 2013 auto-enrolment staging date.Speaking at Employee Benefits Live, Tim Taylor, head of group reward at TUI, ...