All Pensions articles – Page 88
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Supplier article
The basics of workplace pensions (part 3): pension contributions
This is the third step in our five-step guide to auto-enrolment, detailing what you need to do as an employer. By your staging date, you will have to put your qualifying employees into the qualifying pension scheme. From this date, you’ll need to pay money into the pension scheme, which ...
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Supplier article
The basics of workplace pensions (part 2): a ‘qualifying pension scheme’
This article is the second step in our 5 step guide to auto-enrolment outlining what you need to do as an employer.A qualifying scheme is a pension which meets both the qualifying criteria and minimum requirements set out by The Pensions Regulator.Qualifying schemes may either be defined benefit or defined ...
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ArticleFTSE 350 pension deficit hits £119bn after Brexit vote
The accounting deficit for defined benefit (DB) pension schemes for the UK’s 350 largest listed organisations rose to £119 billion at the end of June 2016, according to research by Mercer.Its Pensions risk survey found that the accounting deficit for DB pension schemes increased by £21 billion from £98 billion ...
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ArticleConfessions of a benefits manager: Candid is swamped with conference calls
Today didn’t begin well. For a start, I had to get out of a nice comfortable bed and go to work. Now I am here, I wonder if I have mistakenly come in on a bank holiday. The office is empty and eerily quiet. My colleague, Lazy Susan, is at ...
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Case StudiesReed Smith boosts engagement with workplace Isa
International law firm Reed Smith introduced a workplace individual savings account (Isa) in 2012, launching the scheme alongside its auto-enrolment roll-out as a way of boosting staff engagement with the new pension scheme.Claire Gibbens, HR manager, says: “We had just signed up with a new provider, Hargreaves Lansdown, and [it] ...
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AnalysisInfographic: Should Lisas form part of employees' remuneration package in the future?
An infographic looking at whether Lisas should form part of an organisation's employee remuneration package in the future (Source: Sackers, published in May 2016).Read more in What role do individual savings accounts play in a workplace savings strategy?
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AnalysisWhat role do individual savings accounts play in a workplace savings strategy?
Need to knowReductions in pensions savings limits could make workplace individual savings accounts (Isas) an attractive savings vehicle for those contributions previously made to a workplace pension.Targeted at younger members of the workforce, the launch of the lifetime Isa (Lisa) next April could prove to be a catalyst for engaging ...
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ArticlePensions Ombudsman supports Signet Group in ruling on spouse’s pension
The Pensions Ombudsman has ruled that the widow of a deceased member of the Signet Group Pension Scheme was not entitled to receive a spouse's pension because the couple were not married at the point the scheme rules required in order to qualify for the benefit.Mrs R filed a complaint ...
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Supplier article
Small firms risk non-compliance penalties of up to £500 per day
A recent survey by NOW:Pensions reveals that only 3% of SMEs with less than 50 employees place auto-enrolment among their biggest concerns. The survey asked 350 businesses and placed auto-enrolment in seventh place on the list of concerns, behind sales, access to capital, the EU Referendum, government spending cuts, technology ...
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ArticleEXCLUSIVE: 93% believe childcare vouchers are best tax-efficient benefit
EXCLUSIVE: The majority (93%) of respondents feel that childcare vouchers are the most popular tax-efficient benefit offered by their organisation, according to the Employee Benefits/Xerox HR Services Benefits research 2016, published in June 2016.The government’s tax-free childcare scheme, aimed at replacing childcare vouchers, will be phased in from 2017, with ...
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Article85% of students expect an annual pay rise when they start work
More than four fifths (85%) of students expect an annual pay rise when they join a workforce, according to research by mobile app Debut.The Expectations of Work report, which surveyed 12,000 students in May 2016, also showed that 80% of respondents believe it is now harder to get a job ...
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ArticleEU referendum 'leave' vote expected to impact workplace benefits
The UK has voted to leave the European Union (EU), with potentially far reaching consequences for employers and employees.With a reported 71.8% turn out, 52% of voters elected to leave the EU in the referendum on 23 June 2016.To begin the withdrawal process, the government will have to trigger Article ...
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Supplier article
The basics of workplace pensions (part 1): find out your staging date
The law on workplace pensions has changed. Under the Pensions Act 2008, every employer in the UK must put certain staff into a pension scheme and contribute towards it. This is called 'automatic enrolment'.Whether you’re a builder, an architect or employ a personal care assistant, if you employ at least ...
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AnalysisHow communication can drive benefits take-up
Driving take-up of any employee benefits package is a perennial challenge for employers; after all, it is no good having a comprehensive scheme if people do not know about it, or understand the value they could potentially get.A good starting point for employers is to make sure they are offering ...
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ArticleDiscover how to tackle pensions auto-re-enrolment at Employee Benefits Live
Employee Benefits Live 2016 will tackle pensions auto-re-enrolment issues as part of its Workplace Pensions conference stream.Graeme Wyllie, head of pensions, UK and Ireland at the Royal Bank of Scotland, and Jill Cunnison, head of reward at Capital One, will explain how they have overcome the challenges of communicating complex ...
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ArticleImperial Chemical Industries Pension Fund agrees £630m buy-in
Imperial Chemical Industries (ICI) Pension Fund has completed a £630m buy-in.The bulk annuity transaction with Scottish Widows covers 4,000 members of the pension scheme.The pension fund was advised by LCP and Allen and Overy on the buy-in transaction.Heath Mottram, chief executive officer at the ICI Pension Fund, said: “This buy-in ...
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ArticleSwindon Town football club fined for failing to meet auto-enrolment duties
In April, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) announced that it had fined Swindon Town Football Company (STFC) £22,900 for repeatedly failing to comply with its auto-enrolment duties.TPR issued the football club with a compliance notice in August 2014 directing it to auto-enrol eligible staff in a pension scheme and contribute into ...
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Supplier article
Should employees trust a robot at-retirement?
Jonathan Watts-Lay, Director, WEALTH at work, on why employees who are approaching retirement should be aware of robo advice.While the pension changes are good news, without financial education and advice employees are vulnerable, not just to the headline-grabbing scams, but to paying unnecessary tax, using the wrong assets for income ...
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AnalysisHow to select the right default fund approach for an organisation
Need to know:Deciding on a default fund strategy depends on the quality of the investment strategy, the suitability for employees, and ongoing governance.Active funds are targeted at growth and are diversified across a range of asset classes, while passive funds track a market and are considered a cheaper option.Employees’ expected ...
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AnalysisWhat is the lie of the land for workplace pension schemes?
In May, the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) published its report Value for money in defined contribution (DC) workplace pensions. This considered the definition of value for money in this context, as well as how both members and employers can gain value from their schemes.An increased focus on gaining value from ...