Month: October 2020

8 October 2020

In many places there is still the feeling that mental health is a taboo subject. This extends to the workplace where many employees are still afraid to talk to their employers about their mental health challenges; believing that it could affect their reputation and career (as highlighted by research from Helix Resilience).

Three in ten employees in the UK admitted to concealing a mental health condition from their employer, claiming that they were physically ill instead.

The survey was conducted on 2,000 ‘white collar’ workers based in the city of London. Let’s have a look at some of the highlights from the study:

Age range

Percentage that would conceal a mental health issue

18-24 – 37%

33-44 – 26%

55+ – 13%

The study suggests that there is a concerning correlation between age and being open to discussing mental health challenges.

The research also highlights the effect that lockdown has had on people’s mental health, with 83% noting a decline on their mental health during this period.

The CEO of Helix Resilience, Dr Stephen Pereira, suggested that there is a still an underlying stigma attached to mental health conditions, leading people to conceal their mental health conditions.

The questions you need to ask are:

–       Does this affect my workplace?

–       What could I do to improve this?

There are a several ways to make these changes in your workplace, such as implementing a mental health wellbeing strategy, an employee assistance programme, or even mental health first aid training.

If you feel that this is something you would like help with, please contact me and we can discuss how to remove the stigma of mental health in your workplace.

2 October 2020

There is no doubt that Auto Enrolment (AE) has boosted the pension provision from workplace schemes for millions of workers in the UK, however it’s also exacerbated issues surrounding multiple pension pots.

It’s estimated that an average individual may change jobs 12 times in their career potentially resulting in 12 different pensions pots which all need to be manged and tracked.  It is both daunting and time consuming for workers who merely wish to save for their retirement.

One such saver Andy, voiced the concerns of many at this time. ‘After moving jobs three times in ten years I now have a total of four pensions with four different providers.  Three of which are relatively small amounts. With more than 10 years left to work I’m not sure that what I have saved so far is sufficient to meet my needs and how much I need to be saving in the future.  It’s very confusing and a cause of worry.’

Natasha Newby of Corinthian Benefits agrees.  ‘We see a lot of cases such as this where savers are simply overwhelmed by the management of multiple pension pots and not sure of what they should do next.  Our MyTransfer team can help and advise the next steps in what is one of the most important decisions a pension saver can make’.

Fortunately, this issue has recently been raised at Government level resulting in a task force being put in place to address concerns. Read more

So, what are the pitfalls of maintaining multiple pension pots?

• It’s easy to lose track of small pensions.  Pension providers work and communicate in different ways. A change of physical address or email address could result in a breakdown in the communication chain.  Having one pension with one provider will make the process much easier.
• Each individual pension plan has administration costs associated to it and some schemes have much higher costs than others. Paying multiple investment costs can eat into your overall pension pot resulting in a lower final pension provision. By consolidating schemes, you could pay less in overall charges.
• With multiple pots, it’s difficult to know if you have saved enough for your retirement.  A single pot will give you a much clearer picture of what your retirement fund will look like.
• You could be missing out on Economies of Scale. By combining pots, you may have access to more and better choices for investment.

Clearly, there is much to consider and each savers situation is unique to them.  Each individual pension pot has different charges, benefits, and terms and conditions which need to be considered before taking any decisions.

That’s where the experienced Corinthian Benefit team can assist you.  Corinthian will guide you through the process of combining pension pots step by step and ensure that all risks and benefits are fully understood.

Their aim is to maximise the potential of your pension going forward and help you achieve your retirement goals.

Watch this guide to Pension Transfers and how Corinthian Benefits can help you to maximise the potential of your pensions.

Corinthian – Making the complex simple.