All Employee Benefits articles in Web Issue – Page 550
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Case Studies
Serco saves on sickness absence
Global services company Serco Group has saved £1 million in the first year after implementing a new sickness absence strategy.It moved from a system where there was no central understanding of long-term sickness absence to one where absence is actively managed and controlled. The success of the initiative earned Serco ...
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Article
ABF reviews pensions ahead of auto-enrolment
Associated British Foods (ABF) has appointed a default fund provider as parts of its pension scheme review ahead of auto-enrolment.From October 2012, the scheme will offer its members flexible target date funds as the default option, which will be managed by investment management firm AllianceBernstein.The international food, ingredients and retail ...
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Video
Video: Ricky D'Ash: Advice for those new to benefits
Ricky D’Ash, head of compensation and benefits at Equity Insurance Group, discusses the top issues that employers are currently thinking about, including auto-enrolment, the retail distribution review (RDR) and the future of salary sacrifice arrangements.D’Ash was interviewed by Debi O’Donovan, editor of Employee Benefits magazine at Employee Benefits Live, which ...
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Article
Debenhams agrees pension recovery plan
Debenhams is to contribute £8.9 million each year until 2022 to restore two of its pension schemes to a fully funded position.The Debenhams Retirement Scheme and the Debenhams Executive Pension Plan, which closed to future accrual from 31 October 2006, showed a deficit of £57.3 million on 1 September 2012, ...
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Article
Alliance Surgical enters PMI market
Alliance Surgical has entered the private medical insurance (PMI) market with the launch of a plan designed for medium and large employers.The independent surgical services provider, which is part owned and run by about 1,200 specialist consultants of which 430 are shareholders in the company, will case manage each claim ...
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Article
Highest quarterly fall for annuity rates
The average conventional and enhanced annuity rates fell by 7% and 5%, respectively, in the last three months, according to research by MGM Advantage.The MGM Advantage annuity index, which tracks income paid on convential and enhanced rates on a quarterly basis, found that this decrease is the highest quarterly fall ...
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Article
BHSF to launch group life assurance plan
Health insurer and employee benefits provider BHSF has launched a group life assurance plan for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).The plan features a fixed level of death-in-service benefit for a pre-stated market rate premium. It offers either £25,000 or £50,000 of benefit in the event of a covered employee’s death.Brian ...
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Article
Orbit to move to DC pension for auto-enrolment
Orbit Group is to move its employees to a contract-based defined contribution (DC) pension scheme for all future pensions provision and has closed its defined benefit (DB) scheme to future accrual as part of its plans for auto-enrolment.The move followed a review of the landlord’s pensions strategy, which identified potential ...
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Article
Edenred launches auto-enrolment service
Edenred has launched a pensions auto-enrolment service to help employers understand how to fulfil their obligations under the legislation.The service includes a focus on financial education for employees, provided by accountancy and business advisory firm RSM Tenon.The initiative began in September with a series of question-and-answer webinars for employers on ...
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Article
BBC and E.On awarded PQM
The BBC, BASF, E.On and Age UK have been awarded the Pension Quality Mark (PQM) for their defined contribution (DC) pension schemes.The PQM recognises DC schemes with total contributions of at least 10%, with a minimum employer contribution of 6%. It also distinguishes pension schemes that are clearly communicated to ...
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Article
BNP Paribas to host diversity week
BNP Paribas is hosting a diversity week, which will include a number of educational events for staff aimed at engendering understanding and learning around diversity issues.The event, which will be held across the bank’s UK offices from 15 to 19 October, will bring together discussions on ability, gender, sexual orientation, ...
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Article
Bromford Group launches reward statements
EXCLUSIVE: Bromford Group has launched total reward statements to raise awareness among employees of the total benefit package the organisation offers.The statements have been sent out to 987 employees. The majority received the statement online, while 26 employees without access to a computer at home have been sent a paper-based ...
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Article
Reading Uni buys EAP with pensions savings
EXCLUSIVE: The University of Reading has used the savings made from introducing a pensions salary sacrifice arrangement to add an employee assistance programme (EAP) to its benefits package.The salary sacrifice arrangement was added to the university’s three pension schemes from 1 August, and has seen a take-up of 85%. The ...
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Article
J Sainsbury CEO calls for simple share plans
Share plans should be made as simple and straightforward as possible, said Justin King, chief executive at J Sainsbury, during the keynote address at the IFS Proshare employee share plans conference on 10 October.“We have to peel away the mystery and make it as simple as possible,” he said. “The ...
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Article
NHS trust launches salary sacrifice car plan
Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has added a salary sacrifice car scheme to its flexible benefits package.The scheme, which is available to all 3,900 permanent employees, provides staff with the opportunity to access to a range of additional features, including motor insurance, maintenance, servicing, replacement tyres and European ...
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Article
Newcastle Hospitals replaces car plan
The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust has launched a salary sacrifice car scheme for its 14,000 permanent employees to replace its existing scheme.When the agreement with its previous supplier ended, the trust ran a selection process with three different suppliers, and chose contract hire organisation Tusker.David Malone, green ...
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Article
Zenith trials electric cars for staff
Zenith employees are taking part in a trial of electric cars to assess the real-world viability of their use in company fleets.The fleet management organisation has two Zenith-branded Nissan Leaf cars. One will be tested for short local trips and the second, which staff can book out for up to ...
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Article
SMD launches salary sacrifice cars
Soil Machine Dynamics (SMD) has introduced a company car scheme via a salary sacrifice arrangement, as part of its flexible benefits package.The scheme, provided by ALD Automotive, is open to all permanent staff who have worked at the subsea robotic manufacturer for more than six months.Eligible employees can exchange part ...
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Article
Health Shield launches cash plans for SMEs
Health Shield has launched two health cash plans specifically designed for small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with three employees or more.The Elements plan, which will be available from January 2013, provides a range of benefits, including: dental, optical, chiropody, specialist consultations, health and wellbeing, health screening, online health risk assessments, ...
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Article
High pension charges could cut income
Auto-enrolling employees into older-style pension schemes with high charges could lose up to 50% of their retirement income, according to research by the Pensions Institute at Cass Business School.The research, Caveat venditor: the brave new world of auto-enrolment should be governed by the principle of seller not buyer beware, examined ...