Charity website Easyfundraising, which employs 85 staff, recently switched from its group personal pension (GPP) scheme to a salary sacrifice arrangement, primarily to negate the increase in national insurance (NI) in April 2022.
Janna Bates, head of HR at Easyfundraising, says: “The same amount of money is going into the pension scheme, however, on average, our employees have seen a 9% saving in NI by moving to a salary sacrifice [arrangement]. It is hugely important for employers to engage with their employees in terms of their pensions and other financial decisions and support them where possible during this difficult time.”
In helping staff to plan for the future, and avoid making knee-jerk financial decisions to get by during the current cost-of-living crisis, the organisation is benchmarking salaries and benefits, and offering salary sacrifice arrangements for bikes and technology, enabling someone who needs a new phone to spread the cost through their pay. Hybrid working and a car-sharing scheme also help to keep costs down for employees.
Staff can also benefit from a series of financial wellbeing webinars, which among other things will highlight the value of workplace pensions, a money-saving tips forum available on Teams, and an employee assistance programme (EAP), available 24-7, that offers advice for those who need someone to talk to.
“It is very important that our employees understand their pensions and how they are calculated, and we have used a mixture of FAQs, letters and webinars run by experts to help improve understanding," says Bates. "However, even without the current cost-of-living crisis, we believe that employers should be engaging with their employees to ensure that they are paid fairly and have the ability to make good financial decisions and plan for the future.”
