West Brom Building Society has received living pension accreditation from the Living Wage Foundation as part of its commitment to ensure financial security for employees both now and in retirement.
As a result of its commitment, all employees will receive a minimum employer pension contribution. Existing employees will be advised on how to increase their contribution in line with the standard if they wish to do so.
The Living Wage Foundation launched the living pension accreditation in March 2023. It is a voluntary savings target for organisations that want to help workers, particularly lower-paid ones, boost their pension pots to provide enough income to meet their everyday needs in retirement.
The living pension savings target is 12% of a full-time living wage worker’s salary, including a minimum 7% employer contribution. This is higher than the minimum required under auto-enrolment, which stipulates employers must contribute at least 3%, while staff pay 5%. The savings target can also be met as a cash amount of £2,950 a year, with the employer contributing at least £1,720 to this.
The society has now achieved all three of the Living Wage Foundation’s standards, receiving real living wage and living hours accreditations in 2020 and 2022, respectively. These ensure that all directly employed and third-party contracted staff are paid at least the real living wage, and that they receive secure, stable working hours and predictable shift patterns.
Sophie Pazzaglia, chief people officer at West Brom Building Society, said: “We’re incredibly proud to reach this milestone, which has been several years in the making. Being recognised as the first building society in the UK, and the first employer in the region, to achieve the triple Living Wage Foundation accreditation shows how seriously we take our responsibility to our employees.
“We believe in creating a more secure future for our people, that is why our long-term investment into employee wellbeing through gaining this accreditation, helps to show that our people are at the heart of what we do and why we exist.”
