All articles by Rebecca Patton – Page 6
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Rexam appoints pension scheme actuary
Rexam Pension Plan has appointed Towers Watson as scheme actuary to its £1.8 billion defined benefit (DB) pension scheme.The global consumer packaging business and manufacturer of beverage cans’ scheme has around 23,000 members.Graham Parrott, chairman at Rexam Pension Trustees, said: “We are pleased to announce the appointment of Towers Watson ...
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Shopping for a great benefit
Something for the weekend…Employers are always looking for the best perks to offer to employees, but how many have considered given them the whole business as a benefit?Joe Lueken, owner of Lueken’s Village foods, a two-shop chain of supermarkets in Bemidji, Minnesota and an Econofoods in Wahpeton, Minnesota, is giving ...
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A third of SMEs ready for auto-enrolment
One in three (38%) small and medium-sized (SME) respondents are ready for auto-enrolment ahead of their staging dates, according to research by Jelf Employee Benefits.Its Auto-enrolment tracker research showed a slight improvement from May 2012, when 31% of respondents were aware of their staging date and had started to prepare.Steve ...
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Cost is biggest auto-enrolment concern
EXCLUSIVE: Cost is the biggest concern for employers implementing auto-enrolment, however, 61% of respondents do not yet fully understand how much the process will cost their business, according to research by Vebnet.The research, which was carried out by Research Now, found that the second biggest concern is the administrative burden ...
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Center Parcs pilots incentives for saving energy
Center Parcs has launched a Home Energy Pilot scheme offering financial incentives to encourage its 6,000 employees to reduce the amount of gas, water and electricity they use in their homes.Employees that opt into the scheme are given an electricity smart meter to record electricity consumption.Water and gas use is ...
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Anglian celebrates 24 long-serving employees
Anglian Home Improvements held an awards ceremony to celebrate 24 employees’ service with the organisation.The ceremony was held on 29 November at the Holiday Inn at Norwich Airport, where 21 employees were awarded for 30 years’ service and three employees for 40 years’ service, including factory manager Andy Mobbs (pictured).Each ...
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EU pension changes could increase costs for employers
Proposed pensions changes from the European Commission could impose £350 billion in extra costs on UK employers, according to a report commissioned by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI).The economic impact for the EU of a Solvency II-inspired funding regime for pension funds, collated by independent economic consultancy Oxford Economics, ...
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Employers will communicate auto-enrolment face to face
The majority (86%) of respondents that will reach their auto-enrolment staging date in the next 12 months and have started planning their communications strategy will use meetings or presentations to do so, according to research by Buck Consultants.The research found that 46% will use one-to-one staff meetings. .The research also ...
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Aon Hewitt completes Babcock acquisition
Aon Hewitt has entered the public sector pensions administration market after completing its acquisition of Babcock International Group’s pensions administration office (PAO) in Caithness, Scotland.Aon Hewitt has taken on all 33 employees from the PAO and all of its employer clients, which are mainly comprised of public sector final salary ...
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JLT completes Alexander Forbes acquisition
The Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group (JLT) has completed the acquisition of Alexander Forbes Consultants and Actuaries for a cash consideration of £17 million.The acquired organisation will become part of JLT’s employee benefits business.The acquisition was first announced in October 2012.Duncan Howorth, chief executive officer at JLT Employee Benefits, said: “This ...
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Growth in global pay slows
Global monthly wages grew by 1.2% in 2011, down from 2.1% in 2010 and 3% in 2007, according to a report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).The Global wage report 2012/13 found that, although wage growth in developing countries suffered a double-dip with a forecast of zero percent in 2012, ...
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Peer 1 staff get gift-wrapping service
Web hosting provider Peer 1 is offering staff a free professional gift-wrapping service at its Southampton headquarters today.The organisation’s 60 employees have been allowed to do their Christmas shopping online at work with presents delivered to the office.The gift-wrapping service, provided by Happy Wrapping Services, will be available free of ...
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Aviva workplace savings platform goes live
Aviva has gone live with its workplace savings platform Work:Life.The platform provides a single online benefits hub where employees can view and select all their benefits, including the pension scheme.Employers can offer benefits from Aviva, such as its group personal pension (GPP) plan, pension tracker and flexible benefits package through ...
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A little Christmas cheer
Something for the weekend…As Christmas draws nearer, it’s not uncommon to treat employees to a Christmas party, followed by a lunch the day after to revive tired workers or maybe allow people to head home a little early. But what other seasonal perks are employees enjoying?A survey by HR services ...
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Bonus expectations down in financial services
More than half (60%) of respondents said they expect to receive a bonus in 2012/13, down from 67% in 2011, according to research by Morgan McKinley.Its Bonus expectations survey, which was carried out in November 2012 among financial services professionals, found that respondents who do not expect a bonus believed ...
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Allowance cut to impact saver confidence
Autumn statement 2012: The reduction in the annual and lifetime pension allowance contributions could impact on more savers than the 2% it is aimed at.The Chancellor George Osborne announced that from 2014-15 the annual allowances will reduce from £50,000 to £40,000 and the lifetime allowance will be reduced from £1.5 ...
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Increase in higher-rate tax threshold
Autumn Statement 2012: Chancellor George Osborne announced in the Autumn Statement today that the higher-rate threshold for income tax will increase by 1% in each year between 2013 and 2016.The rate above which individuals pay income tax at 40% will be set at £41,450 in 2014-15 and rise to £42,285 ...
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Capital gains tax exempt increases by 1%
Autumn statement 2012: The annual exempt amount for capital gains tax will increase by 1% in 2014-15 and 2015-16.The exempt amount is currently at £10,600 for 2012-13 and will reach £11,100 by 2016 with the announced increases.John Whiting, tax policy director at the Chartered Institute of Taxation, said: “The threshold ...
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Heineken and RSA manage DB pensions risk
Heineken and RSA have introduced a risk management platform to manage their defined benefit (DB) pension scheme risk.The technology platform, PFaroe, is provided by PensionsFirst.International brewer Heineken will use the technology to manage its £2.5 billion in UK DB pension obligations, while global insurance organisation RSA will use it to ...
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More pension funds engaging with stewardship
More than seven out of ten respondents (71%) took stewardship activities and policies of asset managers into account when selecting them, according to research by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF).The NAPF Annual engagement survey found that the number of respondents considering stewardship activities increased from 48% in 2011 ...