All Pensions articles – Page 28
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OpinionNeil Bowden: Employers can manage pension costs when emerging from lockdown
The first step to mitigating pension costs might be a simple one: surprisingly, according to government figures published in May 2020, 40% of employers have not claimed for the national insurance and pension contributions elements available under the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (CJRS).If an employer is concerned about their pension ...
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ArticleKeep updated with the mini-Budget 2020
Chancellor Rishi Sunak will deliver his mini-Budget speech at approximately 12.30 pm on Wednesday 8 July 2020.He will be expected to discuss further plans to get the UK economy back on track to help businesses and the UK population deal with the financial ramifications of the Covid-19 (Coronavirus) pandemic.Stay tuned ...
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ArticleBrandsby Agricultural Trading Association completes £13 million bulk annuity transaction
Brandsby Agricultural Trading pension scheme has completed a £13 million bulk annuity buy-out transaction with Legal and General.The buy-out transaction has secured the benefits of all 120 members under the scheme. The trustees appointed Legal and General Investment Management (LGIM) as fiduciary manager in 2018. The trustees were advised on ...
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ArticlePension savings have increased by 35% since 2017
The average pension pot in the UK for employees in large firms is now £120,000, a 35% increase from 2017, according to research by Close Brothers.The study of 200 employees, published June 2020, also found that average savings and investments has fallen by 3%.Over the three year period, on average ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: 73% of employers offer group personal pension schemes
Just under three-quarters (73%) of respondents offer a group personal pension (GPP) scheme for auto-enrolment, making it the most popular type of pension scheme that is offered.The Employee Benefits research 2020, published in May 2020, which surveyed 269 HR decision-makers, found that this has been the most popular pension scheme ...
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ArticleGeneral Healthcare Group completes £150 million insurance scheme buy in
The trustee of the General Healthcare Group (GHG) Pension and Life Assurance plan has completed a £150 million insurance scheme buy in.The deal, which the organisation secured with Aviva, covers all of its 700 defined benefit (DB) members. In 2008, the trustee hired scheme secretariat firm Inside Pensions to provide ...
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Article88% of employees participated in workplace pensions during 2019
Overall, 88% of eligible employees (19.2million) participated in a workplace pension in 2019, an increase from 87% in 2018, according to research by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).The analysis that looked at all members of all qualifying workplace pension schemes, occupational pension schemes, group personal pensions (GPPs), and ...
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OpinionEmma Martin: Keep calm and do not panic about retirement plans
With Covid -19 causing market volatility and financial uncertainty, employees due to retire this year may be worrying about the impact of the pandemic on their retirement savings and retirement plans. The key message for these individuals is to keep calm and do not panic.Employees should be reassured that if ...
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ArticleNissan consults on closing defined benefit pension scheme for 1,800 staff
Japanese car manufacturer Nissan is consulting on the closure of its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme for 1,800 employees in the Sunderland region.The organisation has made the decision to end the scheme as the business investment is deemed unsustainable long-term.Nissan is currently consulting on the closure of the plan with ...
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OpinionMurray Keir: Furlough and the impact on salary sacrifice and death-in-service benefits
The government introduced the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (GJRS) in March to tackle the effect that Covid-19 (Coronavirus) is having on employment in the UK. Great strides have been made in getting to grips with the operation of the GJRS in practice to provide employees with a salary while they ...
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Article3i Group completes £650 million pension scheme buy-in
The Trustees of the 3i Group Pension Plan have completed a £650 million pension scheme buy-in.The buy-in transaction with Legal and General covers the benefits of 280 pensioners and 570 deferred members and will be held as an asset of the pension plan.The Trustees, were advised by Lane Clark and ...
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ArticleTribunal rules non-cash contributions are not eligible for pensions tax relief
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has won a case at an Upper Tier Tribunal, which ruled that non-cash (in-specie) contributions are not eligible for pensions tax relief.In-specie contributions are where assets such as property or shares are transferred to a pension without first being converted to cash. Self-invested personal pension ...
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OpinionJoanna Sharples: Why responsible investment could be the pensions engagement message members need
Assets held by UK defined contribution (DC) pension schemes are expected to increase substantially over the next decade. That vast sum of money will support the retirements of millions of UK employees over the next 30 years and beyond.Over the last few months, stock markets around the world have suffered ...
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OpinionAmy Davies and James Edmonds: Should the burden of pensions move to the employee?
Employers in Australia make significantly larger contributions to their employees’ pensions than their UK counterparts. Thanks to the Superannuation Guarantee, Australian employers pay 9.5% of an employee’s earnings to their pension pot. In contrast, the minimum contribution rate for UK employers under the automatic-enrolment regime is just 3% for eligible ...
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Supplier articleBusy Bees Benefits: Pension Salary Sacrifice Considerations For Furloughed Employees
In these unprecedented economic times, there is much for an employer to consider around salary sacrifice pensions when managing furloughed employees during the COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. This article by Busy Bees Benefits aims to provide some clarity for business owners on what they must consider.It is important to remember that ...
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AnalysisHow can employers ensure pension scheme members get a good retirement outcome?
Need to know:Employers have many options that can help to improve employees' retirement outcome, without increasing contribution levels.Member communications should make employees aware of how their investment can vary over the long term.At-retirement support is vital to ensure employees are aware of the options available to them when ...
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Case StudiesTrowers and Hamlins offers employees above minimum pension provision
International law firm Trowers and Hamlins is typical of progressive firms that try to do a bit more than the minimum required by law when it comes to staff pensions.Some 700 of its 800 UK-based employees, as well as a number of the firm's partners, are members of the Trowers ...
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OpinionNigel Peaple: Employers need to show staff the value of pension contributions
With staff working from home and businesses under financial pressure from the Coronavirus lockdown, the government has provided two vitally important measures to support workplace pensions during this crisis.The first provides support for employers to meet automatic-enrolment contributions for workers. Grants paid to employers under the Coronavirus job retention scheme ...
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ArticleLeonardo Electronics completes £160 million pension scheme buy-in
Electronics organisation Leonardo Electronics has completed a £160 million buy-in pension scheme with Just Group.This is the first buy-in for the scheme, which has been obtained in an attempt to reduce risk while still offering new benefits to active employees.This deal benefits 1,253 members with non-trivial annual pensions in the ...
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OpinionTim Middleton: Pensions support for employers and staff is essential during the Covid-19 crisis
The Covid-19 (Coronavirus) crisis has had the most serious peacetime impact on society for over a century. With most of the population subject to lockdown, employers have scaled down their activities or suspended them altogether. This has seen an estimated nine million employees placed on the government’s furlough scheme and ...