All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 495
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Pension reform is key challenge of 2012
The majority (76%) of respondents rate pensions reform as the key benefits challenge over the next 12 months, according to research by Thomsons Online Benefits.The annual Employee Rewards Watch research, which surveyed 430 employers, found that just 19% are already using auto-enrolment to enroll eligible employees into their pension schemes.The ...
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Article
Government launches consultation on executive pay
Shareholders will have greater powers to influence executive pay if a government consultation designed to tackle the current gulf between performance and pay gets the green light.The consultation, Executive pay: consultation on enhanced shareholder voting rights, launched by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), put forward a number ...
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Work and Pensions Select Committee recommends lifting restrictions on Nest
The House of Commons’ work and pensions committee has recommended lifting the contribution cap and the pension transfer ban on the operation of the national employment savings trust (Nest).The report, Automatic enrolment in workplace pensions and the national employment savings trust, recommended removing the two restrictions as a matter of ...
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Global Share Alliance grows with addition of North American share registrars
The Global Share Alliance has expanded with the addition of North American share registrars American Stock Transfer and Trust Company, Canadian Stock Transfer Company, as well as Wells Fargo Shareowner Services.The alliance, which was founded by Equiniti, Link Market Services and Tricor in 2011, represents over 40 million shareholders worldwide. ...
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JLT Benefit Solutions launches BenPal for trust-based pension schemes
JLT Benefit Solutions has extended its BenPal product to employers operating trust-based pension schemes.The product reduces manual administration and provides trustees with comprehensive data. It also enables trustees to communicate important events to targeted groups of employee members.Roger Mattingly, executive director at JLT Benefit Solutions, said: “What is key now ...
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Chiswick Park hosts health and wellbeing week for staff
Chiswick Park hosted its latest health, wellbeing and fitness week for employees at the end of February.The business park works with wellbeing organisation Feel Good to offer the health and wellbeing week throughout the year as part of efforts to create a work-life balance for employees.The event offers employees a ...
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Business professionals flock to sheep-dog training course
High-flying professionals are flocking to a course in Wiltshire, which claims to combat stress and develop teamworking skills by teaching them how to behave like sheep dogs.The Raising the Baa course gives employees the chance to herd disorderly sheep into a pen. But there is no room for woolly thinking ...
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Article
Employers plan to use existing DC pension plan for auto-enrolment
More than two-thirds of employers plan to use their existing defined contribution (DC) pension plan to automatically enrol their employees, according to research by Towers Watson.The Towers Watson DC governance survey 2012, conducted among 145 fiduciaries of UK DC plans, found that the national employment savings trust (Nest) is being ...
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Article
Cardea launches benefits scheme for contract and temporary staff
Health and social care recruitment agency Cardea has introduced a benefits scheme for temporary and contract employees.The Mercury benefits scheme, which is provided by Asperity Employee Benefits, includes: discounts at high street retailers, such as Asda, Comet, Marks and Spencer and Sainsbury’s; training courses to improve skills; and special awards ...
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Article
Adult minimum wage to increase to £6.19 an hour
The national minimum wage for adults is to increase by 1.8%, but rates for younger workers will be frozen at their current levels.From 1 October, the adult minimum wage will increase from £6.08 to £6.19 an hour. The youth development rate will remain at £4.98 an hour and the rate ...
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MetLife relaunches and enhances group life protection product
MetLife has relaunched and enhanced its group life protection product.The enhancements include: increasing maximum ages for cover from 70 to 75 and providing early retirement cover to all retirees, as well as increasing the maximum temporary cover above the free cover limit from £1.25 million to £3 million, and expanding ...
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University of Sheffield appoints pension administrator in preparation for auto-enrolment
The University of Sheffield has appointed Capita Hartshead to administer its pension scheme in preparation for auto-enrolment.The scheme has 3,000 members, made up from the university’s non-academic staff.Andrew Wood, head of financial services at the university, said: “We had two key criteria when choosing our new administrator.“It was essential it ...
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Standard Life to launch auto-enrolment product for employers
Standard Life is to launch an auto-enrolment product, which removes the demands of data administration in three key areas: eligibility assessment, waiting periods and opt-outs.The product has been developed on Standard Life’s pension platform. The technology will link with the provider's group flexible retirement plan and trust-based pension scheme.Stephen Ingledew, ...
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Public sector unions lose appeal on index switch for pensions
Unions representing millions of public sector workers have lost their Court of Appeal battle against a government decision to change the way pension increases are calculated.Three appeal judges refused to overturn a High Court majority ruling from December 2011, which backed the government’s approach.The case relates to the government’s decision ...
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The Pensions Regulator launches next phase in contacting employers about auto-enrolment
More than 200,000 employers, advisers and industry bodies have been contacted by The Pensions Regulator (TPR), advising them of their role in workplace pensions reform.In a series of interviews with TPR, employers made it clear that HR will be central to both the implementation and the ongoing monitoring of pension ...
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Employers remain unaware of sickness absence levels
Employers remain unaware of the causes of sickness absence and their current absence levels, according to research by Aon Hewitt.The Aon Hewitt Benefits and trends survey, which polled 185 employers in the UK representing a combined workforce of 650,000 employees globally, found one-third (32%) of respondents did not know how ...
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Article
Equiniti Group launches workplace stocks and shares Isa
Equiniti Group has introduced a workplace stocks and shares individual savings account (Isa).The product enables organisations to offer employees a regular savings vehicle via payroll deduction. Employees will also be able to make one-off or additional regular debit payments to the Isa, and employers will have the option to contribute ...
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EXCLUSIVE: Killik Employee Services and Yorkshire Building Society launch share plan portal
Killik Employee Services (KES) and Yorkshire Building Society (YBS) have partnered to launch a share plan product called All2gether Better.The product provides a single online portal where members of all-employee and executive share plans can view their scheme information online.Martin Osborne-Shaw, managing director of KES, said: “We are tailoring our ...
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Trinity Mirror to cut pension fund payments by £69m over three years
Trinity Mirror is to cut its pension fund payments by £69 million over three years as part of a deal to refinance its £221 million debt.The newspaper group, which publishes five national papers and more than 130 regional titles, has reached a deal with the trustees of its pension schemes ...
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EXCLUSIVE: Bibby Financial Services launches flexible benefits scheme
Bibby Financial Services (BFS) has introduced a flexible benefits scheme in direct response to feedback from its 720 employees who said that they wanted the ability to tailor their benefits package.The scheme, which is provided by Thomsons Online Benefits, is built on the foundation of a total reward strategy that ...