January 2017 - Corinthian

31 January 2017

Auto-enrolment is a bit of pension, but a lot of pensions admin

According to research carried out by the Pensions Regulator (tPR) 49% of employers have consulted an external adviser – usually their accountant or financial adviser – for auto-enrolment advice and 60% intend to. Of those, 31% will rely on their external adviser completely for advice and actions.

If you are one of these advisers, will you be able to cope? Are you confident that you will be able to guide your clients through the process every step of the way? Do you have enough manpower and time to cope with all the extra pensions admin?

Corinthian appreciates that pensions aren’t necessarily part of your core business, so we will offer as much support as you need, to solve all of yours and your clients’ AE problems.

You will benefit from one simple, all-inclusive, end-to-end solution to auto-enrolment including:

A Market-leading Qualifying Workplace Pension Scheme
Training and support at the outset and ongoing – both face to face and via a UK based helpline
Simplified bulk scheme registration and set-up
Payroll data integration support
One simple online process for assessment, communications and pension scheme reporting
Automated direct debit facility for collection of contributions
Declaration of compliance support and commitment to good governance
Advisor toolkit: once registered you will have access to all the materials you need to advise and educate your clients and their employees.

We improve people’s lives by making the complicated simple. E-mail us at [email protected] or call 020 3668 3999.4

26 January 2017

You’ve probably found that auto-enrolment has little to do with pensions and lots to do with administration, documentation, HR and payroll.

There are plenty of pitfalls along the way too, so you might need to ask yourself if you’re happy with the support you’re receiving from your adviser and your pensions provider, and how the auto-enrolment process itself is panning out.

What if you could have a FREE upgrade which could save you time, money and stress, while ensuring your staff can better plan for retirement?

We will provide our service at NO extra cost, and often with substantial savings over your current plan.

We also pledge

A fully compliant auto-enrolment service
To reduce your employees net costs by 12%
A massive improvement in your auto-enrolment pension and process
Fully compliant and seamless integration – less than 5 minutes per month
Comprehensive ongoing support with annual review
Dedicated Client Manager and experienced UK based support team
A 5* Defaqto rating and Master Trust accredited Qualifying Workplace Pension Scheme with a wide range of investment options
Enhanced employee engagement and appreciation

It all starts with a no obligation chat to show you how all of this can be achieved. E-mail us at [email protected] or call 020 3668 3999.

20 January 2017

Are you among the 800,000 small businesses set to reach their auto-enrolment staging date in 2017?

One in five companies are now issued with compliance orders after missing their deadline – don’t be one of them!

Make it your New Year resolution to do it properly and on time. Our top three tips are: choose the right scheme, use the best technology and be prepared.

Choosing the right scheme is vital as 9 out of 10 workers stay in their default pension fund when auto-enrolled. However, it can be tricky to compare schemes. Impartial financial research group Defaqto have produced a report ‘How to analyse auto-enrolment default funds’. Click here.
Use the latest technology to make auto-enrolment easier, reduce processing time and cut down on the potential for error. Technology can now be used to complete routine processes and integrate pensions with your existing systems.
Be prepared. If you’re among the 83 percent of small employers who’ve never offered a company pension before, it doesn’t have to be challenging just because it’s unfamiliar. Make sure you know your staging date. Check the Pensions Regulator (TPR) website if you’re unsure.

Why not allow us to take some of the pressure off? We will help you choose the right package for your company which includes:

A fully compliant auto-enrolment service
Comprehensive UK based implementation support
To reduce your employees’ net costs by 12%
Presentations and individual consultations
5* Defaqto rating and Master Trust accredited Qualifying Workplace Pension Scheme with a wide range of investment options

Why not see how you can benefit from the above with a free initial consultation?

Auto-enrolment doesn’t have to be daunting. Contact Corinthian Group Ltd on 020 3668 3999 or e-mail [email protected]

15 January 2017

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) issued its first fines against master trusts who fail to fully demonstrate good governance.

The trustee of Nurture Master Trust was ordered to pay £2,000 for failing to prepare a chair’s statement for the scheme. The maximum fine was imposed because the scheme had a professional trustee in place and there were no mitigating factors.

Separately, the trustees of Save and Prosper Funds were fined £3,020 after failing to prepare a chair’s statement for three master trust schemes.

TPR has issued a regulatory intervention report about both cases. In all the schemes the relevant trustee has now produced chair’s statements.

Nicola Parish, Executive Director for Frontline Regulation at TPR has commented

Parish said, “Completion of the chair’s statement is a basic requirement of good governance and we expect trustees to comply.

“We will enforce the law and impose a penalty where trustees fail to prepare an annual governance statement signed by the chair of trustees. These requirements apply equally to trustees of master trusts.

“These latest fines result from our ongoing focus on ensuring that trustees comply with the requirements of good governance.

“Trustees should be aware that this type of breach will result in a fine. We hope our latest report is a reminder to trustees to ensure they complete the chair’s statement fully and on time.”

Trustees are required to confirm that they have completed the chair’s statement via the scheme return. TPR is supporting trustees in numerous ways. This includes new web guidance and news-by-email to help them understand how to complete the new scheme return. This will include confirmation of completion of a chair’s statement, to demonstrate they are meeting new governance standards.

Corinthian’s preferred pension scheme, Salvus Master Trust, continues to not only meet, but excel the basic standards. It has achieved the Master Trust Assurance Framework (MAF) accreditation – the Pensions Regulator’s standard. The Salvus Master trust has also received a five-star rating (the highest) from Defaqto, the independent financial products’ researcher.