Watergate Bay Hotel group has used trust-based drawdown scheme Crystal since 2014. As well as Watergate Bay Hotel and Beach Retreats on the North Cornwall coast, the employer runs Another Place, The Lake in the Lake District and its newest hotel, Another Place, The Garden in Hampshire.
“It is important to us that we help our employees understand more about their retirement savings,” says Emma Cobble, group human resources manager. “As part of this approach, working with the Evolve Pensions team, which manages the scheme, we organised a number of pension surgery days around the busy hotel timetable. Key to this is ensuring our employees are provided with information and support to help guard against potential pensions scams. Our employees receive regular and timely reminders about how to be vigilant, how scams can be detected and how to take action should they suspect a scam.”
Members are also provided with the ScamSmart leaflet, and links to the FCA ScamSmart website in regular communications and newsletters. The administration team follows the principles of the Pensions Scams Industry Group (PSIG) Code of Good Practice when dealing with members transferring their benefits. This has recently been updated to include more case studies and stronger template letters to help schemes put greater protection in place for their members.
Member seminars were a key requirement of Watergate Bay Hotel, and so Evolve helped set up a series of seminars to explain how the scheme works and the opportunities available. It also ensured that any communication strategy considers vulnerability and accessibility issues. It is imperative that all members are able to access the same level of information.
Punter Southall Aspire and Automated Financial Advice provide bespoke guidance and advice options to members of the scheme.