All Pensions articles – Page 68
-
AnalysisWhat impact will the Lifetime Isa have on UK workplace pensions?
The launch of the Lifetime individual saving account (Lisa) presents an attractive new way for people to boost their savings for a deposit for a first home or their pension pot on retirement, but it should not be seen as an alternative to paying into a workplace pension.From April 2017, ...
-
OpinionSusan Ball: What do the changes to salary sacrifice mean for employers?
With publication of the Finance Bill, the final legislation around changes to salary sacrifice is now available, and considerably more pages have been added. Given the volume of additional legislative text, coupled with the short timeframe between publication and the 6 April 2017 effective date, employers face significant practical difficulties ...
-
Article
p10: Pensions
More than three-quarters (84%) of respondents allow staff to contribute to their defined contribution (DC) pension through a salary sacrifice arrangement, according to the Employee Benefits/Staffcare Benefits research 2017. This is 10 percentage points higher than in 2016, when 74% of respondents enabled employees to contribute to their workplace pension ...
-
Case StudiesThe benefits offered by Holiday Extras
The workplace benefits on offer at Holiday Extras include:Pension:Group personal pension (GPP) plan, with 3% employee contribution. Employer contributes 3% for the majority of staff and 11% for directors and associate directors. Employees can contribute via salary sacrifice. All employees are eligible after they have passed probation, but must opt ...
-
Article41% want to receive childcare vouchers through salary sacrifice
Two-fifths (41%) of respondents want to receive childcare vouchers via a salary sacrifice arrangement as part of their employee benefits package, according to research by Sodexo Benefits and Rewards Services.Its survey of 1,000 employees also found that 51% of respondents want to contribute to their workplace pension through a salary ...
-
ArticleThe tax and legislation changes impacting reward from April 2017
Chancellor Philip Hammond used both the Autumn Statement 2016 and the Spring Budget 2017 to confirm a number of measures that will affect the pay and benefits landscape. Below is a round up of these measures, along with other tax and legislation changes coming into effect from April 2017:National minimum ...
-
AnalysisHow will the gig economy affect employee benefits?
Need to know:Gig workers are revolutionising the service economy. However, employers must tread carefully when offering them benefits or risk legal action and costly reclassification exercises.Arm’s-length benefits arrangements are evolving, where employers act as facilitators, rather than directly contributing financially.The government is currently investigating how the law treats gig workers, ...
-
Article9% pay their bonus into their workplace pension
Less than one in 10 (9%) respondents opt to pay at least part of their bonus into their workplace pension, according to research by Aviva.Its survey of 2,012 UK adults also found that 24% of respondents are aware of the tax advantages of paying their bonus into their workplace pension ...
-
ArticleFirefighters to appeal Employment Tribunal’s decision on pensions age discrimination
The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has registered to appeal an Employment Tribunal decision which ruled that a government move to justify changes to firefighters' pension arrangements was not age discriminatory.More than 6,000 firefighters have brought age discrimination claims following the introduction of the 2015 Firefighters’ Pension Scheme (FPS). On 1 ...
-
Article33% report an increase in staff pension fund performance complaints
A third (33%) of employer respondents report an increase in complaints from employees about their pension fund performance in the last two years, according to research by Portus Consulting.Its survey of 103 UK-based HR professionals and 1,043 UK employees, also found that 35% of employer respondents are concerned about possible ...
-
ArticleHow will the Spring Budget 2017 impact pay and benefits?
Chancellor Philip Hammond (pictured) delivered his first and last Spring Budget speech to the House of Commons on Wednesday 8 March 2017. Below is a summary of the key announcements that could impact employers’ pay and benefits strategies:The government’s tax-free childcare policy will be rolled out to parents with children ...
-
ArticleTribunal rules judges were subject to age discrimination in pensions case
In January 2017, the London Central Employment Tribunal ruled that the Ministry of Justice and Lord Chancellor had discriminated against judges with regards to changes to the judicial pension scheme.Following the closure of the judicial pension scheme in March 2015, serving judges were transferred to a new judicial pension scheme, ...
-
Article63% of gig economy workers believe government should regulate to enable access to benefits
Almost two thirds (63%) of respondents who work in the gig economy think the government should regulate the gig economy to guarantee them basic employment rights and benefits such as holiday pay, according to research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).Its To gig or not to gig: ...
-
Article12% rank health cash plans as their most valued benefit
Just over one in 10 (12%) respondents rank health cash plans as their most valued employee benefit, according to research by Willis Towers Watson.Its 2017 Willis Towers Watson employee benefits and wellbeing index, which surveyed 1,123 UK full and part-time employees aged between 18 and 64 years old, also found ...
-
ArticlePensions dashboard working group to help set minimum data standards
The Pensions Administration Standards Association (PASA) has created its Pensions Dashboard Working Group, which will help to set the minimum data standards for the pensions dashboard.The Pensions Dashboard Working Group will work with The Pensions Regulator (TPR) to set minimum data standards for the pensions dashboard, ensuring that these standards ...
-
Case StudiesNationwide introduces higher minimum pension contribution level to improve retirement outcomes
Nationwide Building Society updated its defined contribution (DC) group personal pension (GPP) plan to default 12,000 scheme members on to a higher contribution rate, to ensure staff access the maximum employer contribution and to help improve retirement outcomes.Following a benchmarking exercise in 2014, Nationwide found that the majority of its ...
-
OpinionTim Gosling: Higher contribution rates will bring savers closer to retirement targets
With the 2017 review of automatic-enrolment approaching, the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) spent 2016 researching adequacy in pension saving. Together with Hymans Robertson, we used data on pension wealth and other savings to build a picture of what retirement incomes could be for the population of Britain, assuming ...
-
ArticleHow can employers create the right pension contribution structure for their workforce?
Need to know:Setting differing contribution levels within a workplace pension arrangement allows employees to select what they can afford to put aside for their retirement.Benchmarking against other organisations within the same industry enables employers to set a sector-competitive pension contribution structure.Employers with a paternalistic outlook could consider setting a higher ...
-
ArticleJohn Lewis and Waitrose staff to receive 6% bonus
Around 86,700 employees at John Lewis and Waitrose will receive a bonus worth 6% of their salary.The bonus is equivalent to more than three weeks’ pay for staff that have been employed by the John Lewis Partnership for an entire year. In total, the bonus will amount to £89.4 million.The ...
-
OpinionLovewell's logic: How popular was the Spring Budget?
I think the benefits industry breathed a collective sigh of relief earlier this week when it became clear that the Spring Budget didn’t include any major announcements impacting reward.But that’s not to say that all of the announcements were popular. Buried in the supporting policy documentation was confirmation that the ...