All Pensions articles – Page 75
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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, ...
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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: ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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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 ...
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ArticleTata Steel UK to close defined benefit pension scheme to future accrual
Tata Steel UK has confirmed that it will close its defined benefit (DB) pension scheme to future accrual.The organisation will close the British Steel pension scheme (BSPS) to future accrual from 31 March 2017. From 1 April 2017, the DB scheme will be replaced with a defined contribution (DC) pension ...
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ArticleGovernment confirms reduction in money purchase annual allowance
Spring Budget 2016: The government has confirmed that the money purchase annual allowance (MPAA) will reduce to £4,000 from £10,000 in April 2017.The reduction was first announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond at the Autumn Statement in November 2016.The money purchase annual allowance applies to those who have accessed their pension ...
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ArticleMaster trust tax registration process to be aligned to regulator's regime
Spring Budget 2017: The tax registration process for master trust pension schemes will be amended to align with the Pensions Regulator’s (TPR) authorisation and supervision regime.The changes to the registration process were announced in the Spring Budget 2017 policy paper. The alignment aims to increase consumer protection and improve compliance.Under ...
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Article31% feel their employer is more interested in their physical than financial health
Around a third (31%) of respondents believe their employer takes a greater interest in their physical health than their financial health, according to research by Wealth Wizards.Its survey of 2,000 individuals also found that 70% of respondents feel that their physical and emotional wellbeing is negatively impacted when they are ...
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Supplier article
Pension Advice Allowance – response from WEALTH at work
From April 2017, the new Pension Advice Allowance will allow individuals to withdraw £1,500 tax-fee from their pensions, to help them pay for the cost of regulated financial advice for their retirement.It will enable individuals to withdraw £500 from their pensions, at any age and up to three times, but ...
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OpinionNaomi Brown: How will the new Pension Schemes Bill affect employers?
Since the introduction of automatic-enrolment, many new master trusts have entered the pensions market, offering a solution for employers that want the benefits of a trust-based scheme without the cost and time of setting up and running their own arrangement. While there are clear advantages to providing defined contribution (DC) ...
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ArticleAberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life agree all-share merger
Financial services organisations Aberdeen Asset Management and Standard Life have agreed an all-share merger, subject to share holder approval.The new combined group would be based in Scotland and re-branded to incorporate the names of both businesses.The merger looks to bring together the organisations' investment and saving capabilities to enhance its ...
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Case StudiesThe benefits offered by Metro Bank
The workplace benefits on offer at Metro Bank include:Pension and group riskGroup personal pension plan. Contribution levels are set according to seniority, starting at 3% employee contribution and 6% employer contribution, then rising to 4% and 8%, with a maximum 5% employee and 10% employer contribution.Life assurance.Healthcare and wellbeingPrivate medical ...