At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week
The headlines you might have missed between 21-27 October 2016.
Alan Sparks: Will someone need to crowd-fund your employee’s funeral?
Corporate Adviser: State bereavement care is basic at best. Group life can ensure colleagues, family and friends don’t have to come to the rescue when the worst happens, says Canada Life Group Insurance research & development consultant Alan Sparks. Read story
Why salary-deducted loans are a key tool in financial wellbeing
Corporate Adviser: Employee demand for financial wellbeing support is growing, and such a service brings benefits for employers in turn, says Neyber co-founder and chief strategy officer Monica Kalia. Read story
Will the Lisa really be good for savers?
HR Magazine: Pensions experts warn of the need to ensure savers truly understand products such as the Lifetime ISA. Read story
Cancer Research UK launches bespoke online benefits platform
Employee Benefits: Cancer Research UK is launching a bespoke online benefits platform that integrates its employee engagement, discounts, and reward and recognition schemes. Read story
Government increases master trust protections and moves to cap early exit fees
Employee Benefits: The government has published its new Pension Schemes Bill, which lays out stricter operating criteria for master trusts and begins the process of capping early exit charges for members of workplace pension schemes. Read story
54% value a good work-life balance more than pay and benefits
Employee Benefits: More than half (54%) of respondents value a good work-life balance above everything else in their jobs, including pay and benefits, according to research by Coople. Read story
Is age the next battleground on pension tax relief?
Money Marketing: Advisers and providers are wary about whether the latest proposed overhaul to pension tax relief will do anything to encourage more people to save. Read story
TPR may need ‘extra resource’ to support new powers
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) may need additional resources as it takes on new powers around master trusts, and merger and acquisitions (M&A), Lesley Titcomb has said. Read story
PLSA DB Taskforce: Members at risk; Action urgently needed
Professional Pensions: The DB Taskforce's interim report reveals the risk of schemes not paying benefits in full is higher than previously thought. Jonathan Stapleton looks at the findings and assesses what can be done. Read story
100,000 oppose Govt interference in LGPS
Corporate Adviser: The prospect of Government interference in local government pension scheme investment strategy will come under attack today in a debate in Parliament forced by a petition signed by 105,000 members of the public. Read story
UK slips down world pension rankings
Corporate Adviser: The UK’s pension system has dropped behind those of Ireland and Singapore, falling to 11th place in this year’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index ratings. Read story
Experts cautiously welcome master trusts pensions Bill
HR Magazine: The new Bill aims to strengthen the governance of master trust pensions schemes. Read story
Natixis holds wellness week for London staff
Employee Benefits: Natixis has held its second annual wellness week for its 430 London-based staff in order to support employees’ health and highlight the wellbeing benefits available to them. Read story
68% would save into the lifetime Isa alongside their pension
Employee Benefits: More than two thirds (68%) of respondents who would consider opening a lifetime individual savings account (Lisa) would save into it alongside their pension, according to research by Hymans Robertson. Read story
Starting salaries for female graduates are £1,400 lower than for male graduates
Employee Benefits: Female graduates earn starting salaries that are £1,400 lower on average than the starting salaries earned by male graduates, according to research by TheCompleteUniversityGuide.co.uk. Read story
What the Pension Schemes Bill means for master trusts
Professional Pensions: The long awaited Pension Schemes Bill to boost master trust regulation has been published. Michael Klimes looks at what it means for providers and the regulator. Read story
Rolls-Royce boosts pension benefits for workers
Professional Pensions: Workers at Rolls-Royce will receive a boost to their retirement incomes due to a number of reforms it took more than a decade ago, the Financial Times says. Read story
IT company enhances benefits with food trucks
Reward Guide: Rackspace Hosting Inc. keeps its millennials by offering staff perks that reflect the workforce. Read story
How to create a workplace programme to incentivise healthy behaviour
Employee Benefits: An employer should pick a broad range of healthy behaviours to reward to avoid alienating groups of employees. Read story
How do we keep an ageing population fit and in work?
Cover Magazine: Research recently published by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) highlighted that one in eight UK workers are forced to retire early because of ill health or disability. John Dean looks at how we can keep the ageing workforce fit and in work. Read story
43% would like their employer to offer relationship support
Employee Benefits: Just under half (43%) of respondents would like their employer to offer relationship support, according to research by Relate and Relationships Scotland. Read story
21% of managers have never spoken to employees with cancer about their illness
Employee Benefits: More than a fifth (21%) of respondents who manage employees who have had cancer have never spoken to them about their illness, according to research by Axa PPP Healthcare. Read story
46% would like their employer to provide financial education
Employee Benefits: Just under half (46%) of respondents would like their employer to offer financial education support, according to research by Equiniti. Read story
TPR repeats warning over late scheme returns
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has fined trustees at New Station Bodyworks Ltd Retirement Benefit Scheme and M Holleran Ltd Pension Plan for their failure to complete scheme returns. Read story
Pension fraud losses 25% higher than original estimates
Professional Pensions: The amount of savings lost to pension fraudsters in the wake of Freedom and Choice is £2.7m higher than previously thought, new data reveals. Read story
Whitbread deficit jumps 40% to £403m
Professional Pensions: The pensions deficit at Whitbread has increased by 40% from March to September according to its latest half-year results. Read story
Are we engaged enough?
Pensions Expert: Active ownership; shareholder engagement; shareholder activism; stewardship – the language varies, depending on which market you are in, but the fundamental logic is the same. Read story
TPR warns companies to comply with AE duties as penalties rise
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has reminded companies they must fulfil their auto-enrolment (AE) duties as the number of penalties issued for non-compliance rose. Read story
Retail Acquisitions maintains BHS pensions were not its problem
Professional Pensions: The company which bought British Homes Stores (BHS) for £1 from Sir Philip Green maintains the pension schemes were not its responsibility. Read story
TPR flexes anti-avoidance muscles to protect benefits
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has used its anti-avoidance powers to ensure members of a defined benefit (DB) scheme receive their full benefits. Read story
Government ‘determined’ to ensure TPR has powers to tackle misbehaviour
Professional Pensions: The government is “determined to ensure” The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has the tools it needs to tackle misbehaviour in the pensions industry. Read story
Pay protection could be a reasonable adjustment in certain circumstances
Employee Benefits: The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has ruled that pay protection could be counted as a reasonable adjustment in certain circumstances. Read story
82% have a strategy to close their organisation’s gender pay gap
Employee Benefits: More than three quarters (82%) of senior management respondents have a clear strategy to review and close their organisation’s gender pay gap, according to research by Xactly. Read story
Abax introduces dedicated weekly exercise hour for UK staff
Employee Benefits: Telematics organisation Abax is allowing its 50 Peterborough-based staff to exercise for one hour a week during working hours to boost employee wellbeing. Read story
69% view perks and benefits as important to their overall satisfaction
Employee Benefits: More than two thirds (69%) of respondents view perks and benefits as important to their overall satisfaction, according to research by Perkbox. Read story
Google and WL Gore named world’s best multinational workplaces 2016
Employee Benefits: Google, SAS Institute, and WL Gore and Associates are among the organisations that have been recognised as the world’s best multinational workplaces for 2016, showcasing high-performing and inclusive workplace cultures. Read story
Weekly earnings increase by 2.2%
Employee Benefits: Median gross weekly earnings for full-time employees increased by 2.2% year on year to £539 in April 2016, according to research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Read story
48% are unaware of workplace sickness absence support
Employee Benefits: Almost half (48%) of respondents are unaware of any form of workplace support for sickness absence in their organisation, according to research by Canada Life Group Insurance. Read story
Government committee launches inquiry into worker rights in the future world of work
Employee Benefits: The government has launched an inquiry into the future world of work, focusing on the working practices, status and rights of agency staff, self-employed individuals and those working in the gig economy. Read story
Escalating penalty notices quadruple as TPR bats away ‘excuses’
Corporate Adviser: The number of escalating penalty notices more than quadrupled in the third quarter of 2016, with 576 fines issued over the period, compared to 165 for the previous four years of the auto-enrolment rollout. Read story
Lay trustees fined for DC scheme failings
Corporate Adviser: Two lay trustees have been fined £300 for failing to provide the Pensions Regulator with a return for their DC scheme. Read story
Employer health costs to soar by 10%
HRD Connect: Workplace healthcare costs are continuing to vastly outpace inflation in most major economies with the global increase expected to average 10% this year. Read story
ASDA store workers can compare to depot staff in equal pay claim
CIPP: An employment tribunal has confirmed that female store workers can use male distribution depot workers as comparators in their equal pay claims. Read story
The gender pay gap – what is it and what affects it?
CIPP: A report by the Office for National Statistics examines data published in the Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) which provides the most up-to-date information on the pay gap between men and women. Read story
Akin Gump overhauls associate salaries as pound plummets post-Brexit
The Lawyer: Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has carried out a UK salary review for its associates and counsel, opting to pay its junior lawyers according to moving exchange rates. Read story
Autumn Statement: What will it have in store for employee benefits?
Cover Magazine: It has been confirmed that the Autumn Statement will take place at 12.30pm on Wednesday 23 November 2016. This is the first Autumn Statement under the new chancellor Philip Hammond. Jelf Employee Benefits sets out the employee benefits agenda. Read story
Tom Conner: The UK is sleepwalking towards a pensions crisis
Professional Adviser: Tom Conner highlights some disturbing findings from the latest Drewberry Wealth and Protection Survey - including the false sense of affluence rising property prices have created in many homeowners. Read story
What’s the IHT position on final salary transfers?
Money Marketing: What is the inheritance tax position, especially if the transfer is driven by the desire for better death benefits and the customer is in relatively poor health? Read story
BA: Trustees granted members ‘gratuitous and unearned’ benefits
Professional Pensions: Trustees of the British Airways pension schemes have been accused of trying to grant “gratuitous” and “unearned” benefits to scheme members in opening statements of a landmark trial. Read story
Employers admit “widespread problem” with gender pay gap
Reward Guide: Business leaders (38%) admit they lack the data and analytics capabilities to identify and close the gap. Read story
One in four employees did not take their full holiday in 2015
Reward Guide: New research has found that UK employees did not take their full holiday allowance last year due to staffing issues and feeling guilty or discouraged. Read story