At a glance: reward and benefits headlines this week
The headlines you might have missed between 4-10 March
Unilever refines DB and DC investment after review
Pensions Expert: Pension fund trustees at consumer goods giant Unilever undertook a review of the UK pension scheme's overall strategy last year and have implemented several changes across the defined benefit and defined contribution sections. Read story
Pension Isa wins out – media reports
Corporate Adviser: The Chancellor is set to opt for a pension Isa structure, taking billions of pounds of tax relief off higher rate taxpayers, according to media reports. Read story
Why the chancellor should consider dual-system pensions tax relief
Professional Pensions: Speculation is growing the Chancellor will introduce a Pensions ISA on March 16 but could he decide to keep the old system as well? Jonathan Stapleton looks at the benefits of a dual-system approach. Read story
Admiral Group rewards employees with free shares
Employee Benefits: Admiral Group has given each of it 8,000 employees £3,600-worth of free shares through its employee share scheme. Read story
Visualsoft treats staff on Employee Appreciation Day
Employee Benefits: Web development organisation Visualsoft has given its 200 members of staff a token of thanks to mark Employee Appreciation Day today (4 March). Read story
No easy answers on LGBT approach overseas
HR Magazine: The issue of how to approach LGBT inclusion in global territories has no clear-cut solution. Read story
Engagement needs a simple definition
HR Magazine: Julia Edmonds, managing director of Lexington Catering, says companies should embrace a clear definition. Read story
Osborne backs off from pension tax reform
Corporate Adviser: Chancellor George Osborne has dropped plans to change tax relief in the 2016 Budget, because now is ‘not the right time’ to do so, according to Treasury sources. Read story
‘Bungled’ tax relief consultation costs Treasury £1.5bn
Corporate Adviser: The consultation into pensions tax relief has cost the Treasury around £1.5 billion in additional pension tax relief as high earners rush to buy now while stocks last says Sipp provider AJ Bell. Read story
92% say redesigning their organisation is the priority
HR Magazine: For the first time in two years leadership is no longer the most pressing concern for UK organisations. Read story
79% used existing workplace pension scheme for auto-enrolment
Employee Benefits: Around three-quarters (79%) of respondents that already have a workplace pension scheme in place opted to use their existing scheme for auto-enrolment, according to research by the Department for Work and Pensions. Read story
Intu awards £10,000 prize through employee recognition scheme
Employee Benefits: Retail property management and development organisation Intu has rewarded its employees for their achievements through its national employee recognition scheme. Read story
Wall Street bonuses fall by 9%
Employee Benefits: The average bonus paid to employees in New York City’s security industry fell by 9% to $146,000 in 2015, according to the Office of the New York State Comptroller. Read story
15% view frequent pensions regulation changes as a burden
Employee Benefits: Some 15% of employer respondents feel that frequent changes to pensions regulation are a burden, according to research by Barnett Waddingham and Standard Life. Read story
'I nearly fell out of bed' – experts shocked by pensions U-turn
CIPD: Chancellor scraps overhaul of pensions tax relief ahead of next week’s budget. Read story
Tax relief off the table but Budget could still bring surprises
Pensions Expert: The chancellor is reported to have shelved anticipated changes to pensions tax relief ahead of next week’s Budget, but industry commentators predict a further wrangle of the landscape could still be afoot. Read story
Longevity hedging to hit £20bn this year – WTW
Corporate Adviser: Increased competition in pensions de-risking means more small-sized deals will happen in 2016, predicts Willis Towers Watson. Read story
Can the government afford to get rid of salary sacrifice?
Employee Benefits: Salary sacrifice arrangements are currently under review by the government. Read story
Peel Ports uses salary sacrifice arrangements to support staff
Employee Benefits: Peel Ports Group offers its 1,000 employees several benefits via salary sacrifice to support them in both their work and personal lives. These include its contributions to its stakeholder pension scheme and childcare vouchers. Read story
George Bull: Salary sacrifice can benefit both employer and employee
Employee Benefits: Salary sacrifice arrangements are very simple, highly effective and potentially beneficial to both employee and employer. It is almost too good to be true. Read story
Which? pension dashboard call sparks level playing field row
Corporate Adviser: Which? is calling on the Government introduce a ‘pensions dashboard’ in next week’s Budget to enable people to access key information about their pensions and savings in one place. Read story
Six millionth worker auto-enrolled
Corporate Adviser: More than 6m workers have now begun saving into a workplace pension as a result of automatic enrolment, and more than 100,000 employers have now automatically enrolled staff. Read story
PPF 7800 deficits rise in February amid market volatility
Professional Pensions: Total funding levels of defined benefit (DB) schemes in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) 7800 have continued to fall against a backdrop of market volatility and falling gilt yields. Read story
EU bank capital rules ‘could harm pension funds’
Professional Pensions: A group of pension fund managers have warned incoming bank capital rules could shut schemes out of derivatives or force them to sell long-term assets to generate cash. Read story
NHS Scotland employees to receive 1% pay rise
Employee Benefits: NHS Scotland staff are to receive a pay rise of at least 1% from April 2016. Read story
15% view frequent pensions regulation changes as a burden
Employee Benefits: Some 15% of employer respondents feel that frequent changes to pensions regulation are a burden, according to research by Barnett Waddingham and Standard Life. Read story
Financial Assistance Scheme to close on 1 September
Professional Pensions: The Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) has announced it is to close and has issued a final call for potentially eligible schemes to get in contact. Read story
TPR launches guide for public sector annual benefit statements
Professional Pensions: The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has published a guide for public service pension schemes on issuing annual benefit statements. Read story
State pension age review could pave the way to ‘fundamental’ reform
Money Marketing: The first independent review of the state pension age is a chance for the Government to explore fundamentally reforming the system, experts argue. Read story
Employment law changes April 2016: an eight-point checklist
Personnel Today: Every April, new legislation affecting employment rights and responsibilities is introduced. This year, the development receiving the most attention is the introduction of the national living wage. But are you aware of other important employment law changes on their way? Read story
Cafcass' healthcare strategy
Reward Guide: Cafcass' healthcare strategy is central to the company's reward and engagement proposition. Read story
EAT reverses ET decision on childcare vouchers
Employee Benefits: The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has overturned an Employment Tribunal (ET) decision that it was discriminatory to require employees to agree to the suspension of childcare vouchers during maternity leave when signing up to the scheme. Read story
Employers must consider the evolving generational mix in benefits strategies
Employee Benefits: Employers need to consider the changing generational mix within the workforce when developing their reward and benefit strategies. Read story
Communications require rethink to close engagement gap
Employee Benefits: Employee communications strategies require an overhaul in order to close the communications gap currently impacting employee engagement. Read story
Reward Gateway acquires Yomp
Employee Benefits: Employee engagement organisation Reward Gateway has acquired health platform startup Yomp. Read story
TPR approves two more master trusts
Corporate Adviser: Xafinity’s National Pensions Trust and voluntary sector provider The Pensions Trust have been added to The Pension Regulator’s list of schemes with master trust assurance. Read story
RPMI dedicates staff to cost investigation
Pensions Expert: PLSA Investment Conference: The Railways Pension Scheme has hired a full-time employee to investigate investment costs paid by the scheme, after discovering it was paying four times what it had thought. Read story
Boston College reduces absence with health cash plan offering
Employee Benefits: Boston College offers a health cash plan to all of its 450 employees, irrespective of their level of seniority or the number of contracted hours they work. Read story
Louise Neilson: Health cash plans and PMI proactively support staff
Employee Benefits: The National House Building Council’s (NHBC) health and wellbeing strategy is supported by benefits that help to attract and retain talent. We want to be proactive rather than reactive when it comes to wellbeing, ensuring that our employees are well at work and as productive as possible, and to support them if they become ill. Read story
Time for a new ‘death-time allowance’?
Corporate Adviser: he Chancellor’s pensions revolution – whenever it finally happens – could turn the world of group risk on its head. The industry therefore needs to start planning for life without the lifetime allowance says Canada Life Group Insurance marketing director Paul Avis. Read story
Pensions dashboard – competition needed
Corporate Adviser: A single-source pensions dashboard would be bad for competition and innovation says Ian McKenna Director, F&TRC. Read story
PPI: Watch what Osborne does with NI contributions in Budget
Professional Pensions: The industry will need to scrutinise Budget announcements on national insurance contributions (NIC) for employers closely, the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) warns. Read story
Altmann: we must protect members from costs of master trust wind-ups
Professional Pensions: Legislation must be introduced to stop the cost of master trust wind-ups falling on members, the pensions minister says. Read story
One per cent pay rise ‘will keep talent out of the public sector’
Recruiters and unions predict widening gulf with private sector; permanent NHS staff ‘could opt for agency work Read story