All articles by Tynan Barton – Page 68
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Case Studies
Case study: University of Lincoln studies retirement age implications for benefits
The University of Lincoln has 1,300 staff, 30% of them aged over 50. The organisation is reviewing its benefits package to account for any impact of the removal of the default retirement age.Ian Hodson, reward and benefits manager at the university, says: “I see the removal of the DRA in ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Nationwide embraces age diversity
About 13% of Nationwide Building Society’s staff are aged over 50. It introduced flexible retirement to age 75 in 2005, ensuring benefits that were applicable before the normal retirement age applied if an employee stayed on after 65.Nationwide extended the benefits that were available to age 75 and self-insured benefits ...
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Article
FSA salaries increase by 22% in five years
Average salaries for employees at the Financial Services Authority (FSA) have risen by 22% in the past five years.Figures from the FSA show employees at head of department level and below, including managers, advisors and administrators, received an average salary of £51,232 in 2010, up from £41,975 in 2005.The largest ...
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Article
Recession has led to adjustment of bonus plans
The recession has led employers to adjust bonus plans to align with changing business priorities, according to the Performance and Reward Centre (PARC).Its Developing Performance Incentives and Sustaining Engagement in a Volatile Environment report, jointly prepared with World at Work, concluded that in 2010 bonus plans included a wider range ...
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Article
Bonuses lose value for each year they are deferred
Bonuses are worth 20% less to executives for each year they are deferred, according to research from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC) and the London School of Economics (LSE).The Psychology of Incentives report, published at a time when shareholders and regulators are pushing for greater deferral of bonuses to curb excessive risk taking, ...
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Article
PensionsFirst research: Funding deficits of FTSE 100 pension schemes have fallen
The funding deficits of FTSE 100 pension schemes have reduced, according to research conducted PensionsFirst(PF).The latest PF Risk Report, a monthly analysis of defined benefit (DB) pension risk for UK FTSE 100 firms, found that the proxy funding deficit now stands at £84 billion, compared to £134 billion in August.†Despite ...
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Article
Moneysupermarket.com launches flexible benefits scheme
Moneysupermarket.com has launched a flexible benefits scheme to meet the differing requirements of its employees.The price comparison website launched Lorica’s Cube flex product at the end of November 2010 after employee research revealed a interest in a wide range of benefits.Its Ichoose scheme has three categories of benefits for all ...
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Article
AllianceBernstein partners with Pensions Management Institute
AllianceBernstein has partnered with the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) as the sponsor of its target date funds specialist industry sector (SIS).The partnership will provide scheme sponsors and trustees with access to current thinking on topical investment issues, with a focus on target date funds.Information can be accessed through the PMI’s ...
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Article
GSK to pay university tuition fees of new recruits
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) is to reimburse 100% of uncapped tuition fees for all UK undergraduates joining the organisation.The measure will be introduced from September 2012 to coincide with the government’s intention of introducing uncapped fees for students at UK universities.GSK currently recruits between 50 and 100 undergraduate students a year into ...
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Article
ECJ ruling could impact retirement incomes
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that unisex premiums and benefits will apply from 21 December 2012.The ruling means gender cannot be used as a factor in the calculation of insurance premiums and benefits.A statement from the ECJ said: “Taking the gender of the insured individual into account ...
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Analysis
Fleet policies go greener
If you read nothing else, read this...During the financial crisis, employers were hesitant to acquire new cars, so it became more common to extend hire contracts.Employers are looking to greener cars to reduce the cost of running a fleet.Employers are monitoring business miles, considering whether travel is necessary and if ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Trader Media offers self-service fleet scheme
Trader Media Group (TMG) fully outsourced the management of its cash allowance scheme and car fleet to Zenith Provecta in 2009.The publisher, which owns the Auto Trader website, runs a fully expensed company car and fuel card scheme for its 256 essential business drivers, most of whom work in sales ...
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Article
National Grid introduces salary sacrifice car scheme
National Grid has introduced a salary sacrifice car scheme to its 10,000 UK employees.The scheme is available through National Grid’s online flexible benefits scheme, provided by Vebnet, with vehicles provided by Tusker.After a soft launch in November and roadshows held at National Grid offices across the UK, the scheme was ...
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Case Studies
Case study: Cable and Wireless broadcasts a win-win fleet solution
Cable and Wireless Worldwide launched an environmentally friendly, cost-conscious, salary-sacrifice car scheme for its 5,000-plus UK staff at the beginning of August 2010.The scheme is set up on a two-year basis and is available for employees to join at any time. After the two years, staff can choose to return ...
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Article
ALD Automotive research: Financial directors more concerned with rising fuel costs than VAT increase
Over half of UK financial directors (53%) are more concerned about the impact of the rising price of fuel on their business than the recent VAT rise, according to research from ALD Automotive.The ALD corporate survey also found that one in ten respondents would expect their business to make redundancies ...
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Article
Budget 2011: Disguised remuneration rules could include car salary sacrifice
Chancellor George Osborne has confirmed that the government will introduce legislation to target arrangements intended to disguise remuneration or avoid restrictions on pensions tax relief.It has not yet clarified whether this will include salary sacrifice car schemes.Alastair Kendrick, director of employment tax services at Mazars, said: “There is a commitment ...
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Article
Budget 2011: Approved mileage allowance payments to rise to 45p
In his Budget report, chancellor George Osborne announced that the approved mileage allowance payments (Amap) rates for an employee using their own car on a business trip will rise to 45p per mile for the first 10,000 miles.After 10,000 miles, the rate will be 25 pence per mile.Alastair Kendrick, director ...
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Article
Budget 2011: Company car tax frozen for low CO2 cars
Chancellor George Osborne has announced a freeze on company car tax from April 2013 in a bid to encourage businesses to use ultra-low-carbon vehicles.The Budget report set out plans for a 1% increase on company car tax for all vehicles with emissions between 95g/km and 219g/km from the same date.Rates ...
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Article
IGlobalFitness launches wellness challenge
IGlobalFitness has launched a wellness programme that challenges employers to increase their employees' physical activity and compete against other organisations.Organisations are able to enter as many teams of five participants in the challenge.Participants are given a calorie counting activity monitor and access to an online activity programme so they can ...
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Article
Lloyds Banking Group gains £910 million after DB pension changes
Lloyds Banking Group has announced a pension curtailment gain of £910 million following changes to its defined benefit (DB) schemes.In the first half of 2010, the group capped the amount of any future increases to pensionable salary to the lower of the retail price index (RPI) inflation, each employee’s actual ...