All articles by Robert Crawford – Page 38
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ArticleGovernment extends pension decision period
Employees who have recently taken a tax-free lump sum from their defined contribution (DC) pension scheme will be given a further 18 months to decide what they wish to do with the rest of their retirement savings.Under current tax rules, once a tax-free lump sum has been taken, individuals have ...
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ArticleMatching pension contributions rise in popularity
The number of pension schemes offering matching pension contributions for members has risen by around 100% in the past 10 years, according to research by Towers Watson.Its FTSE 350 DC pensions survey 2014, which questioned 98 FTSE 100 and 241 FTSE 350 companies, found that 75% of respondents now offer ...
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ArticleCMA changes to private healthcare could cut PMI costs
Measures introduced in the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) final report into increasing competition in the private healthcare market could result in lower private medical insurance (PMI) premiums and new PMI product design.Its Private healthcare market investigation final report has announced measures including a crackdown on benefits and incentive schemes ...
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ArticleCMA report will change private healthcare market
The Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) Private healthcare market investigation final report, published in April, announced a number of measures to address a lack of competition and consumer detriment issues in the market.Joanne Anderson, senior healthcare consultant at Towers Watson, said: “We expect the changes to stimulate further developments in ...
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Article
Prudential launches salary sacrifice car scheme
Prudential has launched a salary sacrifice car scheme for 2,400 eligible employees.The life and pension provider has signed a four-year contract with Leasedrive, which will supply its Mycar scheme to the organisation.Leasedrive has also helped to communicate the new benefit to employees. John Wills, fleet manager at Prudential, said: “When ...
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ArticlePension charges cap could level up low charges
Some scheme members currently benefit from annual management charges (AMCs) well below the 0.75% cap that will be imposed on auto-enrolment workplace schemes from April 2015.Marcus Fink, a partner at law firm Ashurst, said: “The 0.75% cap is a safe figure. I think it possibly could have come down lower, ...
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OpinionThibault Jeakings: DC pension governance to beef up schemes
As well as significantly beefing up defined contribution (DC) schemes’ governance requirements, the proposals also clamp down on the costs of auto-enrolment schemes with a 0.75% cap on administration charges and a ban on additional charges for deferred members and commission payments.The proposals are a reaction to the six to ...
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AnalysisHow dental benefits can reduce employees' time away from work
An employer can offer dental cover via a health cash plan or dental insurance. Helping staff to maintain a good oral health routine may lessen the likelihood of them needing emergency treatment and taking extra time off work.Roger Matthews, chief dental officer at Denplan, says: “There is a recordable loss ...
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AnalysisHow are The Pensions Regulator’s quality assurance steps useful for employers?
If you read nothing else, read this…The Pensions Regulator’s code of practice sets out six principles and 31 quality features.The code is useful to help employers meet pension governance requirements.TPR expects pension schemes to comply with the code.The code may need to be rewritten to accommodate new measures introduced by ...
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ArticleBarclays partners The Positive Ageing Company to support ageing workforce
EXCLUSIVE: Barclays Corporate and Employer Solutions has partnered The Positive Ageing Company to launch an online tool to help employers support the challenges of an ageing workforce and their differing financial needs.The tool will sit within Barclays’ Money Works website.It offers employers information and advice to help staff assess monthly ...
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ArticleArthur J Gallagher acquires The Oval Group
Arthur J Gallagher has acquired The Oval Group for a total net consideration of approximately £199 million.Both Oval Healthcare and Oval Financial Services will now become part of the consultancy’s UK-based Arthur J Gallagher Employee Benefits, led by chief executive officer Tim Johnson (pictured).The acquisition will enable the organisation to ...
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ArticleUK universities offered access to master trust arrangement
Heriot-Watt University and the University of Edinburgh are among the employers that have been given access to a master trust framework.The Advanced Procurement for Universities and Colleges (APUC) managed a tender process for more than 200 institutions in the UK’s higher and further education sector.A large number of university and ...
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Article77% believe in benefits of financial education
EXCLUSIVE: More than three-quarters (77%) of respondents believe financial education in the workplace is helping employees to achieve better financial outcomes, according to research by financial education provider Nudge Global.The financial education provider’s Employee financial education study 2014, which questioned more than 170 organisations that represent more than 850,000 employees, ...
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Article20% take time off work due to stress
One in five (20%) respondents have taken time off work due to a stress-related illness in the past 12 months, according to research by MetLife Employee Benefits.Its research, which surveyed 2,134 respondents aged 18 and above, found that one in 10 respondents have taken more than six days off work ...
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Article19% of women have no pension savings
Nearly a fifth (19%) of women within five years of retirement do not have any private pension savings, according to research by LV=.Its State of retirement report 2014, which surveyed 1,538 British adults over the age of 50, found that just 12% of men have no retirement savings and will ...
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Top 10 most read stories this week 3-10 April
The top 10 most read articles on employeebenefits.co.uk from 3-10 April:1. Court rules IBM breached employer duties in pensions restructure2. Fujitsu launches flexible retirement3. How to maximise savings from tax-efficient employee benefits4. Tax and legal changes to employee benefits take effect5. AT&T and Kodak shortlisted for financial education6. Weetabix consults ...
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ArticleSMEs still not ready for pensions auto-enrolment
More than half (58%) of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) surveyed have yet to set up a pension scheme to comply with auto-enrolment legislation, according to research by AutoenrolSME.The pensions auto-enrolment service, which was developed in partnership with payroll provider Quartz Payroll, conducted research among 200 UK organisations with between ...
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ArticleGender pay gap closes for staff in their 30s
The gender pay gap for full-time employees between the ages of 30 and 39 was just 1% in 2013, according to research by the Department for Media, Culture and Sport.Its Secondary analysis of the gender pay gap report monitored trends in pay between 1997 and 2013 by analysing figures from ...
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Cleaners take life into their own hands
Something for the weekend…Most office-based employees have the safety of sitting behind a desk. So it might not seem important to them to know whether their employer provides life assurance benefits or not.But employees who take their life into their hands might want to check this before going on the ...
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Top 10 most read stories this week
The top 10 most read articles on employeebenefits.co.uk from 20-27 March:1. Employee Benefits Awards 2014 shortlist announced2. BP and Tui criticised over executive pay 3. Engagement biggest HR challenge 4. JLT to acquire Ensign Pensions 5. Buyer’s guide to computer salary sacrifice schemes 6. TPR and FCA launch DC pension ...