All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 385
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Article
Commission launches inquiry into pensions failings
An independent commission has been launched to investigate why the pensions system is failing so many working people in the UK.The Workplace Retirement Income Commission (WRIC), led by Treasury Select Committee chairman Lord McFall, will look at what barriers exist to workplace retirement savings for both employers and staff.The WRIC, ...
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Article
PWC research: Asset management compensation rises
Compensation in asset management firms has risen as fund performance shows signs of improvement, according to research from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PWC).PwC’s annual asset management report found compensation costs as a percentage of net revenues have increased by over 4% over the last financial year.Annual bonus spend as a percentage of pre-bonus ...
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Article
Crutes to launch flexible benefits scheme
Law firm Crutes is to launch a flexible benefits scheme to give staff more choice and control with their benefits.Crutes has appointed Portus Online to develop the scheme which will launch in the spring.Tim Robinson, commercial director at Crutes, said: “As professional advisors, our people are absolutely crucial to our ...
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Article
National Grid adds to employee discount scheme
National Grid has added reloadable shopping cards for Sainsbury’s and Asda to its employee discount scheme.The new offerings were added to the scheme during its annual enrolment period at the end of 2010. The electricity and gas firm has been offering the scheme, provided by P&MM since December 2009, but ...
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Article
Surrey County Council moves voluntary benefits plan online
Surrey County Council has moved its voluntary benefits scheme online.The scheme, which is managed in-house and accessed via the council’s external website, previously offered benefits through a booklet format.The change was made to drive down distribution and printing costs, and increase accessibility. The 25,000 eligible staff can now view and ...
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Article
Hay Group research: No link between pay equality and performance
There is no consistent correlation between pay equality and company performance, according to new research from Hay Group.Getting the balance right: the ratio of CEO to average employee pay and what it means for company performance looked at nine different sectors including energy, technology, financial, communications, utilities and consumer.The research ...
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Article
Canada Life research: Staff unaware of financial support when sick
Employees are unaware of the level of financial support they may be entitled to if they were unable to work due to sickness, according to research by Canada Life Group.The research found that one in five (19%) employees did not know how long their employer would continue to pay their ...
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Article
Sun Chemical appoints Mercer to de-risk pension scheme
The trustees of Sun Chemical’s pension scheme have appointed Mercer to de-risk its £260 million closed defined benefit (DB) scheme.The trustees had identified the need to proactively manage the funding position of the scheme, particularly given the challenging situation of volatile asset markets and low interest rates in recent years.Mercer ...
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Article
Honda Group enters in £7 million pension buyout
The trustees of the Honda Group UK Pension Scheme have entered into a pension insurance buyout agreement with the Pension Insurance Corporation.The deal will insure the £7 million Honda Racing Development portion of the £700 million scheme, which covers both deferred and current pensioners. This part of the scheme was ...
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Article
Scottish Life changes investment strategy for pension fund
Scottish Life has changed its investment strategy for the Scottish Life Europe Specialist Pension Fund as part of its commitment to provide effective governance.The underlying investment of the provider's pension will now be based on Neptune European Opportunities Fund instead of Artemis European Growth. Lorna Blyth, investment marketing manager at ...
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Article
Enrich appoints John Sansone head of pensions
Enrich has appointed John Sansone head of pensions. He will be tasked with leading the pension service proposition and all aspects of client delivery.Sansone has 30 years experience in the pensions and employee benefits industry, including roles at Towry Financial Services, Watson Wyatt Partners, Towers Perrin and KPMG.As head of ...
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Article
Pall completes longevity hedge for non-retired pension members
The trustees of the Pall UK pension fund have completed a longevity index hedge to mitigate the risk of increased life expectancy for the scheme's non-retired members.The fund has entered into a £70 million contract with JP Morgan based on future values of its LifeMetrics longevity index.Previous longevity deals have ...
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Article
Private sector pension deficits fall by more than £120 billion
The deficits of private sector defined benefit (DB) pension schemes have reduced by more than £120 billion, according to the latest monthly index from Pension Capital Stategies (PCS).PCS estimated that as at 31 January 2011, the deficit for all UK private sector pension schemes was £62 billion, compared to £183 ...
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Article
More than half of employees have had their pay frozen or cut
More than half of employees report their organisation has either frozen pay (46%) or cut pay (7%), according to this quarter’s Employee Outlook Survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).More than half of employees in the private sector have had their pay either frozen (42%) or cut ...
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Article
APM Group adds holiday discounts to voluntary benefits plan
APM Group has added Hotel Stay UK to its voluntary benefits scheme.The accreditation, certification and examination body has added the perk to its scheme to allow staff to access discounts on hotels and short breaks in the UK and worldwide.Emma Vernon, HR advisor at APM Group, said: “I was able ...
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Article
Just a third of employers actively monitor pay equality
Gender pay gaps may be ignored in organisations, as only a third of employers have measures in place to monitor pay.According to The State of HR Survey by law firm Speechly Bircham and King’s College London, although 84% of employers stated there was no material gender pay inequality in their ...
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Article
Government issues new contracted out rebate rates for DB pensions
The government has announced details of the contracted-out rebate rates for defined benefit (DB) pensions schemes.If an individual is contracted out of the State second pension, the employer and employee pay national insurance (NI) contributions reduced in total by 4.8%.To create the new 4.8% rate, employer rebates are falling from ...
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Article
Lorry drivers take their families along for the ride
One of the biggest drawbacks of going to work is that it gets in the way of other things, whether that be watching an entire series of Mad Men in one sitting or spending time with loved ones.A fleet of long-distance lorry drivers, however, has been able to achieve a ...
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Article
Danish pension provider ATP to launch an alternative to Nest
Danish pension provider ATP will challenge the national employment savings trust (Nest) by launching a pension that is targeted at low to middle income earners.Former Conservative shadow pensions minister Nigel Waterson will be working with ATP ahead of the scheme's launch but it has not been confirmed whether he will ...
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Case Studies
Case study: FirstGroup focuses on age for pension investment strategy
?FirstGroup has designed the investment strategy for its contract-based defined contribution (DC) pension schemes to take account of an employee’s age and appetite for risk.The transport operator, which runs two contact-based DC plans in the UK, has devised a series of investment options based on these criteria and has created ...