At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week
The headlines you might have missed between 26 February - 3 March
Brexit pension volatility peril – Lincoln
Corporate Adviser: DB asset allocation and pensions risk management models will be tested by uncertainty caused by the Brexit referendum, with gilt yields, interest rates, equity values, volatility, default risk of corporate bonds and FX all likely to impact both the pension scheme and the sponsoring companies says Lincoln Pensions. Read story
Pension saving regains pre-crash peak
Corporate Adviser: Personal pension saving has almost regained the peak seen before the financial crisis, with £20.3bn contributed to personal pensions in 2014-15, just short of the £20.9bn contributed in 2007-08. Read story
Flexible working will be main option for most employers by 2020, says report
CIPD: A tipping point where flexible working will become more common than working from an office will be reached next year, according to a report. Read story
IPG Mediabrands to launch financial wellbeing programme
Employee Benefits: IPG Mediabrands is to introduce a financial wellbeing programme for its 381 UK employees. Read story
Landmark launches staff recognition and CSR portal
Employee Benefits: Landmark Information Group has launched a staff recognition and corporate social responsibility (CSR) portal for its 400 employees. Read story
Tools of the talent trade
HR Magazine: Is it time you took a fresh look at your talent management processes? Read story
Workplaces should give employees a purpose to increase happiness
HR Magazine: Speaking at the Intellispace BCO half day conference, Paul Dolan identified two types of happiness. Read story
Royal Bank of Scotland engages staff with its sustainability goals
Employee Benefits: Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is engaging employees with its sustainability and energy-efficiency goals as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) policy. Read story
EY, Iceland and Nationwide are among the 25 Best Big Companies to Work For 2016
Employee Benefits: EY, Iceland, Nationwide Building Society, Skyscanner and Water Aid are among the organisations recognised in The Sunday Times’ Best Companies to Work For 2016 lists. Read story
Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund closes DB to future accrual
Professional Pensions: Merchant Navy Officers Pension Fund (MNOPF) will close its defined benefit (DB) scheme to future accrual and instead introduce a 30% defined contribution (DC) rate for members. Read story
TPAS: Average pot size for people seeking freedoms guidance is £45,000-£48,000
Professional Pensions: The average pot size of members contacting The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS) for guidance since freedom and choice came into force is between £45,000 and £48,000. Read story
Employers back financial education to close pensions gap
Corporate Adviser: A survey by Hargreaves Lansdown found employers either underestimate or don’t know how much their employees should be saving for retirement. Read story
Huge increase in Google searches as UK public seeks pension information
Reward Guide: Search engine sees massive increase in ‘pensions freedoms’ search.
Nearly one million retail jobs to go by 2025, warns BRC
CIPD: National living wage and apprenticeship levy could ‘fail at implementation’. Read story
AE opt-outs gain £508 but lose £862
Corporate Adviser: An average earner who opted out of auto-enrolment back in 2012 will have increased their gross pay by £508 but lost out on £862 in employer contributions and tax relief, according to figures from Aegon. Read story
JLT to cut jobs as commission ban hits profits
Corporate Adviser: JLT Employee Benefits is planning to reduce its headcount in response to falling revenues resulting from the ending of commission and uncertainty over ‘government-led changes to the occupational pensions market’. Read story
Starbucks to extend national living wage rate to all staff and offer London premium
Employee Benefits: All employees working in Starbucks UK-owned stores are to be paid at least the national living wage rate of £7.20, including apprentices and those aged under 25. The coffee chain’s all-employee approach to the new rate of pay will benefit more than 4,500 staff members. Read story
Danwood introduces national living wage for all employees ahead of April deadline
Employee Benefits: Print and document solutions firm Danwood introduced the national living wage rate in January 2016, three months ahead of the statutory implementation date set by the government. Read story
Prime Minister urges Osborne to soften pension tax relief overhaul
Money Marketing: Prime Minister David Cameron is urging George Osborne to “play it safe” on pension tax relief reform in the Budget after a cacophony of protest from Conservative backbenchers, the FT reports. Read story
BoE slaps down EU regulator on small bank bonus caps
Money Marketing: The Bank of England has told the European Banking Authority that its proposed cap on banking bonuses is unfair to small firms. Read story
Barclays’ profits dip to £5.4bn as bonuses plunge 10%
Money Marketing: Barclays has reported a 2 per cent drop in pre-tax profits for 2015 as bonuses were cut by 10 per cent across the business. Read story
Former CBI chief Cridland to lead state pension age review
Money Marketing: The Government has appointed John Cridland CBE to lead an independent review of the state pension age. Read story
PPI: Huge gulf in pension savings remains despite reforms
Money Marketing: Despite automatic enrolment and changes to the state pension, women have just half the pension savings of men, according to the Pensions Policy Institute. Read story
William Hill to pay all employees the national living wage
Employee Benefits: William Hill is to pay all of its 12,500 employees at least the national living wage rate of £7.20 an hour. Read story
Law Society of Scotland increases trainee solicitor pay rates
Employee Benefits: Trainee solicitors in Scotland are to receive a pay rise following an increase in the Law Society of Scotland’s mandatory and recommended rates of pay. Read story
TPR warns trustees to move quickly on chair’s statements to avoid fine
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has reminded trustees they will be fined if they fail to prepare the new annual governance statements within the statutory deadline. Read story
DB deficits shrink by £43bn in February
Professional Pensions: Total funding levels of defined benefit (DB) pension schemes have improved since January despite volatile markets and low interest rates, according to JLT Employee Benefits. Read story
Rules on gender pay gap reporting are out for consultation
CIPD: But what should HR professionals be doing now to prepare for this new duty? Read story
IRRI report: Savers do not understand retirement risks
Professional Pensions: Pension savers need much more support if the freedom and choice reforms are to be a success says a major report. Read story
Long-term funding of public sector GMP indexation remains uncertain
Professional Pensions: The Government has announced it will fully index public service pensions for workers reaching State Pension Age from April 2016 to 5 December 2018. Read story
Hargreaves Lansdown: almost half of employers have no strategy for ageing workforce
Professional Pensions: Nearly half of employers do not have a strategy in place to deal with an ageing workforce according to research from Hargreaves Lansdown. Read story
Rolls-Royce introduces financial education and engagement strategy
Employee Benefits: Rolls-Royce has implemented a financial education and employee engagement strategy to engage employees with saving for retirement, and switched pension scheme providers. Read story
67% of generation Z employees view salary as most important aspect of a job
Employee Benefits: More than two-thirds (67%) of generation Z respondents consider salary to be the most important thing about a job, according to research by leadership development organisation the Forum Corporation. Read story
Ombudsman upholds pensions tax complaint against police
Employee Benefits: The Pensions Ombudsman upheld a complaint against the Police and Crime Commissioner of South Wales over its failure to inform a police officer of the tax implications of re-employment on his retirement benefits. Read story
Double contributions and allow safe harbour hybrid: Labour review
Corporate Adviser: Workers should double their pension contributions and hybrid drawdown/annuity products should be given safe harbour, according to a far-reaching review of retirement income carried out for the Labour Party. Read story
IRRI: Nest 'should be allowed' to enter decumulation market
Pensions Expert: Government-backed mastertrust provider Nest should be allowed to compete in the decumulation market from 2018 to help savers who do not understand the risks, the long-awaited Independent Review of Retirement Income has said. Read story
Domestic and General offers employees a well-rounded benefits proposition
Employee Benefits: For Domestic and General, a key aim of its benefits proposition is that it is well-rounded enough to support its diverse employee base. Read story
Steve Webb: A slow death for retirement
Corporate Adviser: Employees will have to work beyond the age at which they are physically capable if they rely on auto-enrolment contribution rates for a decent retirement income says Steve Webb, Director of policy, Royal London. Read story
Widows scraps exit charges on workplace pensions
Corporate Adviser: Scottish Widows has today announced that it will be removing all exit fees across its workplace pensions, allowing customers the freedom to switch to another product or provider if they wish to do so without incurring a charge. Read story
Aviva latest provider to cap exit fees
Money Marketing: Aviva, the UK’s biggest pension provider, is to introduce a 5 per cent cap on exit fees for all individual and workplace pension customers, Money Marketing can reveal. Read story
First IGC report calls on Royal London to cut legacy charges
Corporate Adviser: Royal London’s Independent Governance Committee has persuaded the provider to reduce charges on legacy customers by £15m. Read story
Six providers investigated over exit charges
Corporate Adviser: The FCA is investigating six life insurers over concerns that customers may not have been informed they had paid exit charges on exiting a policy. Read story
23% have yet to review schemes in light of pension freedoms
Employee Benefits: Almost a quarter (23%) of respondents have yet to review their pension scheme investment strategy since the pension freedoms were introduced in April 2015, but plan to do so this year, according to research by Willis Towers Watson. Read story
80% of UK organisations lack staff engagement
Employee Benefits: Some 80% of UK respondents face a lack of employee engagement in their organisation, according to research by Deloitte. Read story
Osborne will introduce a flat rate of tax relief says industry
Professional Pensions: George Osborne will go for a flat rate of tax relief according to PP research. Read story
Blackrock warns Brexit offers plenty of risk for little reward
Professional Pensions: There would be little to gain from Britain leaving the EU, according to a paper from BlackRock Investment Institute (BII). Read story
What would a new state retirement age mean for employers?
CIPD: Average age of leaving the workforce may reach 70-plus, experts predict, with implications for skills, training and pension costs. Read story