All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 524
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Article
Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Savings Research 2012: Retail Distribution Review
Under the Retail Distribution Review (RDR), which will come into effect on 31 December 2012, commission payments from contract-based defined contribution pension providers to benefits consultants and advisers will be banned. Instead, employers will have to pay a fee and/or commission to their consultant or adviser, agreeing upfront how much ...
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Article
Buyer's guide to bikes-for-work schemes 2012
Focus on factsWhat are bikes-for-work schemes?These are tax-free loans to employees that can be operated through salary sacrifice arrangements. Employers buy a bike and safety equipment for the employee and deduct the cost from their gross pay in equal instalments. This arrangement results in tax savings for the employee and ...
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Article
Employee Benefits Pensions and Workplace Savings Research 2012: Workplace Savings
When it comes to financial planning, few people look at a single savings vehicle in isolation. Taking a holistic view of their finances can be the most effective way for people to identify the best savings tools for their short-, medium- and long-term future.Employers now have a number of workplace ...
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Article
24% of respondents to implement flexible working during Olympics
Less than a quarter (24%) of respondents said their organisation will implement a flexible working policy for the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, according to research commissioned by networking and virtualisation technology firm Citrix Systems.The YouGov survey, which polled more than 500 senior decision-makers at small and medium-sized enterprises ...
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Article
HSCIC report: NHS sickness absence rates continue to decrease
NHS employees in England had a sickness absence rate of 4.12% in 2011/12, slightly lower than the two previous years, according to a report by the Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC).The report presents sickness absence information recorded by the English NHS for the last three financial years and ...
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Analysis
Group risk: Strategies for managing long-term absence
If you read nothing else, read this…Maintaining regular contact with an absent employee can improve their chances of returning to work.Employers should consider actions as for an employee on maternity leave, such as catch-up meetings and sending newsletters.Determining an appropriate level of contact with an absent employee should be a ...
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Article
William Grant and Sons adds health cash plan to flexible benefits
EXCLUSIVE: William Grant and Sons has added a health cash plan to its flexible benefits scheme to offer more flexible healthcare provision for its 1,600 employees.The Scottish distiller offers the plan, provided by Cigna Healthcare and introduced in July, in addition to its onsite occupational health programme and private medical ...
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Article
BT introduces online affinity fleet scheme
BT has introduced an online affinity fleet scheme.The scheme will provide employees and former employees access to ex-BT Fleet cars through a website created by CD Auction Group.Zenon Witkowski, head of car sales at BT Fleet, said: “This new online affinity sales scheme will offer an improved service to our ...
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Article
Legal and General targets staff on retirement savings ahead of auto-enrolment
Legal and General has run an initiative to educate its 7,000 staff about the importance of saving for retirement as the first phase of its communications around auto-enrolment.The insurance firm has an auto-enrolment staging date of April 2013. It has a defined benefit (DB) pension scheme, which was closed to ...
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Article
Employees want flexibility around workplace savings and pensions
Employees want more flexibility around their savings and pensions options, but employers are not catering for their needs, according to research by Mercer.Its research, which analysed the defined contribution (DC) pension schemes of more than 300 UK organisations, found that, on average, 58% of employee respondents ranked pensions as the ...
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Article
Nigel Aston: Are default funds the best option for the majority of staff?
Default funds the best option for the majority of staff, but a decade of educating members has not decreased the 80% relying on a fiduciary of some sort choosing on their behalf. People have more interesting things to do than learn the difference between gilts and equities. It should not ...
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Article
Unum launches video to raise awareness of group income protection
Unum has launched a video to help employers understand the value of group income protection.The video forms part of the insurance provider’s income protection awareness-raising campaign.It is hosted on AskUnum, an online hub that hosts blogs, downloadable resources, videos, and questions and answers to help employers and employees find out ...
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Article
Begbies Traynor Group completes lease deal for company cars
Begbies Traynor Group has completed a sale and leaseback deal for its 153 company cars.The fleet arrangement, provided by Zenith, was completed to increase driver choice, reduce internal administration and give more control over the independent recovery firm's fleet spend.Begbies Traynor Group's drivers will have access to a driver portal ...
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Article
Dev Raval: Are default funds the best option for the majority of staff?
Default funds the best option for the majority of staff according to 92% of FTSE 100 pension funds [Towers Watson’s FTSE 100 DC pension scheme survey 2012], which operate a default investment strategy, with more than half of those having more than 90% of their members in the default option. ...
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Article
David Noakes: Are default funds the best option for the majority of staff?
The default funds selected by some pension schemes seem to have been chosen using a path of least resistance, to minimise possible employee comeback. This is not to be confused with less risk, although unfortunately it often is.This approach typically identifies an equity-biased, index-tracking fund as the default option. Tracking ...
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Article
Buyer's guide to financial education
Focus on factsWhat is financial education?It is a structured process and set of learning objectives designed to inform employees about financial matters. It is often focused on educating around relevant employee benefits, such as pensions and share schemes, but can also include help with saving money. Traditionally, content can be ...
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Article
Drivers see value in car salary sacrifice
EXCLUSIVE: Drivers gave low cost as the number one reason for deciding to acquire a car through a salary sacrifice scheme, according to research by fleet provider Tusker.Its research, which surveyed 1,000 company car drivers, found that 91% of respondents would recommend a salary sacrifice car scheme to a colleague.More ...
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Article
Oscar Mayer Group rejigs health cash plan
Oscar Mayer Group has withdrawn hospitalisation benefits in its health cash plan and added new benefits such as funding for prescriptions, consultations and diagnostic tests, health screening, and an increase in optical benefits.The food producer has offered the cash plan, provided by Bupa, to its 2,000 staff via its flexible ...
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Article
National Childcare Week highlights family perks
National Childcare Week 2012, from 2-9 July, gives employers an opportunity to highlight their childcare benefits and other work-life balance opportunities.Many childcare providers and industry bodies will host information events for employers. Edenred, for example, is focusing its roadshows and webinars on summer holiday survival, with tips for the summer ...
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Article
Debi O'Donovan: Staff engagement with pensions is essential
Pensions auto-enrolment could be the worst employee engagement disaster in recent years. Those of you who know me will realise I am not inclined to tabloid-style, shock-horror scare stories, so let me explain my thinking.We have gone through several years of below-inflation pay increases, if not pay freezes, which are ...