All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 361
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CSR: MPs’ final salary pension scheme to end
During the Comprehensive Spending Review, Chancellor George Osborne told the Commons that the current final salary scheme for members of parliament will have to end.Osborne said: “It is clear that the current final salary pension terms for MPs are not sustainable and we anticipate that the current scheme will have ...
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CSR: Nest and auto-enrolment to go ahead
The National Employment Savings Trust (Nest) will go ahead.The Comprehensive Spending Review has confirmed that the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) settlement will fund the introduction of auto-enrolment from 2012 and the establishment of Nest, to help individuals save for their retirement and encourage high quality pension provision by ...
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CSR: Higher pension contributions for public sector workers
Chancellor George Osborne has announced that the government will increase the level of employee contributions in public sector defined benefit pensions, as outlined in Lord Hutton’s interim Public Sector Pensions Review.In his Comprehensive Spending Review, Osborne said that the “progressive changes” will deliver an additional £1.8 billion of savings a ...
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CSR: Equitable Life policyholders to get £1.5 bn compensation
In his Comprehensive Spending Review (CSR), Chancellor George Osborne announced that £1.5 billion will be available to compensate Equitable Life policyholders.The full cost of losses to ‘with-profits annuity’ policyholders, which amounts to approximately £620 million, will be covered by the government.Osborne recognised that these policyholders were hit the hardest when ...
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Uniq proposes equity swap with pensions fund
Uniq has proposed swapping the majority of its shares with its pension scheme to plug its deficit of £436 million.The chilled food company is seeking approval from the Pensions Regular to implement the deficit for equity swap with a partial share buy-back from the pension fund.The proposal will involve an ...
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50% of employers believe competitors offer better benefits
Almost half of HR professionals working for large firms believe their competitors offer a superior benefits package.The findings came out of a survey by YouGov for vehicle leasing firm Lex Autolease. The survey polled over 300 HR managers and directors of firms with more than 1,000 employeesOnly 1 in 5 ...
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50% of employers want to keep default retirement age
Almost half (46%) of employers believe that it would be preferable for their organisation to have the default retirement age (DRA), says a survey from law firm Ashurst.Despite the government's recent announcement to abolish the DRA of 65 from October 2011, only 5% of professionals believe its removal will improve ...
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Government to consult on remuneration tax for bankers
The government will consult on the viability of a financial activities tax on profits and remuneration in the financial services sector.Financial Secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban MP said that disclosure on remuneration practices will be scrutinised. The measures were reiterated in an announcement today clarifying details on a bank ...
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Ukuleles help City workers beat stress
Making music with a miniature instrument is not the most obvious way for suited bankers to escape the pressures of the trading floor.However, for some City workers, playing the ukulele is the ultimate way of beating stress and improving wellbeing. It has been reported that since high profile business men ...
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Nordea Bank commended for health and wellbeing
Nordea Bank's London branch has been commended for its commitment to employee health and wellbeing.The bank was awarded a Healthy Workplace award by provider Simplyhealth in recognition of the contribution it makes to the welfare of employees. Winners of this award provide employees with a range of initiatives and benefits ...
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BMI launches free staff health checks
Hospital chain BMI Healthcare is offering free mini health checks in workplaces across the UK.The ‘Inspect Your Health’ events will start in November and be available for one year until October 2011.BMI Healthcare will dispatch nursing teams to deliver the checks which will include tests for body mass index (BMI), ...
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Court ruling protects BT's pension benefits
The High Court has ruled the government will take responsibility for BT's pension scheme in the event of the company going bust.The long-awaited verdict clarifies uncertainty around a guarantee, put in place when the firm was privatised, that the government would step in and provide protection for members of the ...
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National Trust appoints Punter Southall for pension consulting services
The National Trust has appointed Punter Southall to provide consulting services for its defined contribution (DC) pension scheme.A key part of the project will involve looking at ways to integrate full-time employees who not already in a pension scheme, as well as arrangements for additional seasonal workers.Judith Alborough, assistant director ...
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Bagshaws of Melton scheme transferred to Pensions Protection Fund
Barnett Waddingham has completed the administration process to allow the Bagshaws of Melton retirement benefit scheme to be transferred to the Pensions Protection Fund (PPF).Mike Rachman, a partner at Barnett Waddingham, said: “Managing a pension scheme through a PPF assessment period is a challenge that is unfortunately being faced by ...
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Organisational change is a top stress factor for public sector
Organisational change is one of the top three stress factors for public sector workers, according to a new survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).Its Absence Survey, published in partnership with SimplyHealth, found nearly half (56%) of public sector employers cited organisational change/restructuring as a key cause ...
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Government to launch consultation on state pension reforms
The government has announced it will launch a consultation on reforming the basic state pension.A spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), said: "The Chancellor has confirmed the government will improve the quality and accessibility of pensions in the Spending Review period.“We will be bringing forward proposals for ...
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Aon Hewitt research: UK salaries set to grow by less than inflation
UK salaries increases are expected to rise but will still be below current inflationary levels.The Aon Hewitt 2010/2011 European Salary Increase Survey found that the average UK salary is expected to rise from 2.5% in 2010 to 2.7% in 2011.However, salary increases are still far below the 2007 pre-recession levels ...
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LCP research: A third of employers dissatisfied with group risk offerings
A third (34%) of employers are dissatisfied with their existing benefits arrangements, says the LCP Risk Benefits Survey 2010: Trends in health and welfare benefits.The most common drivers for change include: the desire to extend existing benefits to more employees (26%) and wanting to introduce new benefits (24%).LCP, part of ...
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Government presses ahead with Nest and auto-enrolment
The government has confirmed it will press ahead with auto-enrolment and retain the national employment savings trust (Nest).In its completion of its review Making auto-enrolment work, the Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) said employees earning more than the personal income tax allowance of £7,475 will be automatically enrolled into ...
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Sellafield links safety to reward and incentives
Nuclear plant Sellafield has given more than 5,000 rewards to employees since launching a reward scheme to encourage behavioural safety in the workplace at the beginning of April.Its Peer-to-Peer Observation programme and VIP (Virtual Incentive Points) reward account, which is provided by Love2reward, is available to more than 12,500 employees ...