Ben_B0m, Author at Corinthian

16 November 2020

How can The Corinthian team support you and your employees?

We are living in unprecedented times and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic means employees are facing an increasing number of challenges. That’s why we are providing increased support for those who are transitioning to a new job or leaving an old one.

We can help employees:

1. Understand their new benefits/ or understand what benefits they will no longer have on leaving.

Providing company benefits is a great way to reinforce your employees’ sense of belonging and loyalty to the business, which can improve productivity and retention. There are a number of benefits your company might offer including cycle to work schemes, childcare vouchers, and lifestyle perks. However, if your employees don’t understand what benefits are available to them, they won’t be able to take advantage of them. Corinthian can help your employees understand their new benefits, so both you and your employees can make the most out of them.

Discuss options of continuing some benefits including pension and private medical insurance when leaving.

When an employee decides to move on, they may be changing more than just their job. If they are currently benefitting from a certain pension plan or private medical insurance, they may be worried about losing this going forward. When someone leaves a company, they can continue receiving private medical insurance by choosing to take out individual cover with the same provider, taking out a completely new individual policy, or switching to a new company scheme. Corinthian can help your employees gain a better understanding about which plan might be most suitable for them, as well as providing expert advice on pension plans.

Provide pension options at leaving.

We know employees are busier than ever and pensions may not be their highest priority right now, but the right pension plan can increase an employee’s retirement pot by thousands of pounds. When someone changes jobs there are many options when it comes to their pension and Corinthian can help them reduce their pension charges and achieve better investment returns on their pension fund. One way this can be done is with a pension transfer.

Provide an overview of the pension and benefits for new joiners including our pension transfer offering.

The average person will change jobs twelve times during their working life, which also means twelve different pension schemes. To avoid this, many people consider a pension transfer, which is the process of moving the value of their pension from one scheme to another. This can potentially help an individual reduce their pension charges and achieve better investment returns on their pension fund. Unfortunately, the process isn’t always simple. Corinthian can help your employees maximise the potential of their pension by reviewing the existing pension plans they are considering and providing expert advice to establish suitability of a pension transfer based on their risk tolerance.

These are just a few of the ways Corinthian is supporting employees who are joining or leaving the companies we work for and we are always coming up with news ways to provide more help and support to you and your employees.

As many of us are operating primarily remotely at the moment, we can offer a telephone call, or video Zoom & Teams meeting to interact with your employees. Please contact us at [email protected] Tel: 0845 2419541

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.

7 September 2020

Blog by Adele Batchelor, Senior Client Manager, Corinthian Benefits

I have been working as a client manager in Employee Benefits now for over 10 years and have been used to working from home and visiting clients, but in March 2020 life as we knew it changed. Overnight we were put into lockdown and had to juggle working from home 24/7 plus schooling. Its been an interesting year to say the least.

Today, I visited my first local client face to face in almost 6 months and it felt like being freed from prison.

After 6 months under house arrest with my husband and our two children (aged 8 and 10), all working and schooling at home, todays newfound freedom was quite literally a breath of fresh air.

That said the day didn’t go without some trepidation and anxiety. As for many people across the world whose lives this year have been turned upside down, going back out to work after so long at home did create some anxiety. With my bag packed with PPE, I set off to the life I once knew.

I forgot how much I love my alone time on a car journey, the freedom and thinking time it provides as I travel around the country lanes of Hampshire. The sense of joy I get from exercising my lungs whilst listening to Adele at full blast!

Overall, the visit was a really good experience and you cannot underestimate the value and wellbeing of face to face interactions with our fellow humans. I felt safe that Covid guidelines were being met and that any risk was low. I’m looking forward to doing more visits soon and more importantly for the kids to return to school.

People talk about the ‘new normal’ but this phrase is becoming as boring as ‘unprecedented times’. For me it’s just about getting back to life.

[email protected]

2 September 2020

As always we hope that you, your colleagues and families remain safe and well.

We’ve made it to September, which is always a month for me that feels like a fresh start. That back to school feeling which feels enhanced this year with things edging back to normal in September.

In August we posted a number of videos on our social media channels, please take a look at the videos in the links below.

Employee Health and Wellbeing Strategy Step 3 https://www.facebook.com/107273567589582/videos/2616348285297031/

Friendly News w/c 17^th August 2020 https://www.facebook.com/107273567589582/videos/3220321261336390/

Employee Health and Wellbeing Strategy Step 2 https://www.facebook.com/107273567589582/videos/358821128850962/

Friendly News w/c 3^rd August 2020 https://www.facebook.com/107273567589582/videos/225735922035114/

Sharing inspiration during lockdown https://www.facebook.com/107273567589582/videos/299565511149416/

If you have a news story you would like us to share or a topic you would like to see us produce a video about then please do get in touch.

As ever you can catch up on all of our videos on our website https://corinthianbenefits.co.uk/time-to-think/, our You Tube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_VFEAaspee_i0byVroDO4Q or our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/corinthianbenefits/?ref=br_rs.

Remember use this time to think and stay safe.

26 August 2020

Since January we have seen many changes towards the employee benefits arena, ranging from the increased offering of insurers to employer driven activities. This has been accelerated by the pandemic, which forced many employees to work from their own homes. But what will be the lasting effect that this will have on businesses?

Employees have proven that they can efficiently work from home, to the extent that 56% of businesses are encouraging more flexible working hours. This has also resulted in employers changing their outlook on health and wellbeing, with many seeking to implement benefits such as employee assistance programs or cash plans. If you would like to know more about these you can contact Corinthian directly.

Research conducted for office management specialists Flexioffices, shows that more than a third of London based businesses are looking at stepping out of the capital and 24% of employees want more communal space, where they can socialize, whilst adhering to the social distancing guidelines.

So, the question is “what are office-based businesses planning to do post lockdown?”

57% have decided they want to downsize. This will help reduce overheads and create a budget to implement new benefits supporting the new desire to working from home
44% are encouraging employees to work remotely
44% of businesses that were looking to purchase office space now want to rent
53% of business outside of London are less inclined to move

This data show how businesses are adapting to the new working environment, and it is highly unlikely that this will reverse to the old ways. Now employees have proven that they can be just as efficient working form home – How does this bring in a new employee benefit?

Working from home can be classed as an employee benefit, whether it is for one day a week or all five. It offers employees many additional benefits, some being

Flexible schedule
Personalised working environment
Ability to have private calls without having to find a breakout room or shut the office door
No office distractions
Zero commuting
Saving money on travel and food
Stronger work life balance
Better mental health

If you want to know more or would like to see how your current benefits can add further support to your employees please get in contact with Corinthian Benefits on 0208 189 6161

17 August 2020

For many years, the statement “I love building things” has featured in the LinkedIn profile of Corinthian Benefits Managing Director, Robert MacGregor. This is a reference to his desire to see ongoing growth and development in everything he is involved with, “whether that is individuals (helping good guys get even better), teams, market leading businesses, or sometimes actually even buildings.”

This attitude transcends everything that Robert does and underpins Corinthian Benefits aim to be the leading benefit consultant for SMEs in the UK. “Our mission is to ‘make the complex simple”. This allows companies and their employees to maximise their retirement planning opportunities and use of additional benefits.

“We are committed to finding ways to help companies and employees to really engage with savings, pensions, and benefits” Robert explains, “rather than just forcing them to do it”.

By its very nature, this is no easy task. For example, encouraging over 600 companies and nearly 20,000 employees to embrace Auto Enrolment really isn’t that simple. Achieving this successfully has a lot to do with changing the way people view long term saving, rather than just addressing the immediate action.

“It takes really good people and hard work. Fortunately we have a complete team of the former and we all do the latter” Robert continues.

Part of Corinthian’s strength is the environment it has created within its teams, where colleagues want to come to work and keep doing a great job for both the business and their clients. Staff retention is also highly valued; therefore, practices are continuously evolving and individual staff development is paramount.

Staff currently have a range of Chartered Insurance Institute qualifications between them with 7 modules currently in progress and 10 recently passed. 3 team members have also recently finished their Diploma in Financial Services with one other only 3 exams from completion.

“One of the most satisfying aspects of running a business is to have people you have worked with for years, who started in a junior position and now have highly responsible and well rewarded roles. A key aspect of this is a continuous focus on every single one of us developing” Robert says.

Person Centred development is encouraged in both business and personal life through training, coaching, mentoring and exams. The company pays for the exams and material, revision time, and a bonus for passing. The corporate structure also rewards passing professional exams with pay rises based on their industry recognised qualifications.

“From our newest intern (who we pay) up to our leadership team, we are all taking some sort of exam, based on where we work”.

“Our team is full of great people and they are what will make our business great too”, Robert concludes.

13 August 2020

We hope that you, your family and your colleagues are well.

Please find attached our Q2 2020 Investment Round Up Newsletter.

It was announced this week that the UK economy has suffered its largest slump on record between the months of April and June due to the coronavirus lockdown measures, which has officially pushed the country into it first ‘technical recession’ (two consecutive quarters of economic decline) since 2009. The economy shrank 20.4% compared with the first three months of the year with household spending plunging as shops were ordered to close, while factory and construction output also fell.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the economy bounced back in June as government restrictions on movement started to ease. On a month-on-month basis, the economy grew by 8.7% in June, after growth of 1.8% in May. The housing market was given a boost with the Chancellor’s stamp duty changes, with many estate agents reporting their busiest months ever since being allowed to re-open.

We continue to watch the markets and economy together with developments around lockdown measures easing and schools re-opening.

Should you have any questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

20 July 2020

Since 2015 savers aged 55 and over have been able to access savings from their Defined Contributions Scheme under the ‘pensions flexibility’ rules. This means that funds can be accessed as a Lump Sum Payment, Lifetime Annuity, Flexi-Access Drawdown, Capped Drawdown or Short-Term Annuities.

This relaxing of the rules has proven to be a popular development as HMRC figures show that over £30.7bn has been flexibly withdrawn since that time

However, with greater access to these substantial pots of money comes an invitation to criminals to take advantage and 2018 figures from regulator the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), reported that victims of pensions scams lost an average of £91,000 each to fraudsters; with two people losing more than £1million.

In January 2019 the Government made all pension cold-calling illegal, including from legitimate firms. Only firms authorised by the FCA or who have an existing relationship with the recipient and who have explicit consent are allowed to do so. Those breaking the rules face fines of up to £500,000.

But criminals operating pensions scams are unlikely to be deterred by the threat of a fine, so what can you do to avoid becoming their next victim?

According to the FCA “scammers usually contact people out of the blue via phone, email or text, or even advertise online. Or they may be introduced to you by a friend or family member who is also unknowingly being scammed”.

“They will make false claims to gain your trust including presenting attractive offers to persuade you to release funds to them”.

Scams often include:

Offers of free pension reviews
Promises of higher returns
Cash release options (if you’re under 55 this is highly likely to be a scam)
High pressure tactics – especially time limited offers or suggesting a courier can deliver and collect documents quickly
Unusual investments
Complicated structures where it isn’t clear where your money will end up
Arrangements involving several parties, all taking a fee, some based overseas
Long term investments – it could be several years before you realise something is wrong.

“If you’re contacted out of the blue about a pension opportunity, chances are its high risk or a scam” the FCA advise.

The FCA and The Pensions Regulator (TPR) have defined four key steps to give better pensions protection.

Always reject unexpected offers – this includes phone calls, emails, online or postal.
Check who you are dealing with. You can view a list of all authorised organisations on the FCA register.
Don’t be rushed or pressured into making a decision. It takes 22 years for a typical saver to build an £82k pension pot, the average period of time victims had spent considering the scam offer was just 24hours.
Finally, it is always worth seeking impartial information or advice.

If you have any questions, please get in touch. The Corinthian team are here to help. [email protected]

14 July 2020

According to recent reports from the Pensions Policy Institute and Close Brothers the gender and income divide remains alive and well in the world of pensions.

Women have often found their career and service progression interrupted by family commitments, the gender pay gap and career breaks and the overtaking of Final Salary Schemes by Defined Contribution schemes was seen as a positive move towards addressing this discrepancy. However, despite the fact that DC schemes can provide generous tax relief the recent research by PPI shows that this is disproportionally benefiting men.

71% of the value of the tax relief is claimed by men
69% of the value of the contributions are made by men (or employers on behalf of)
68% of the total income earned by individuals claiming tax relief goes to men
63% of those who benefit from the tax relief are men

These findings make worrying reading alongside previous figures from the PPI showing that there are 1.2million women in their 50s who have no private pension. 50% higher than the number of men.

In addition to the PPI findings a survey of 2000 people by Close Brothers indicated that, whilst average pension savings pots have risen an average of 8% for UK men since 2017, women’s have fallen 15%; and a 2019 survey by Censuswide found that 62% of female respondents were concerned about running out of money in retirement compared to 53% of men.

What can women do to maximise their pension savings?

“Women really need to be encouraged to start prioritising their pensions earlier in their careers” is the advice from Corinthian Benefits, “this will allow them to achieve maximum benefit from employer contributions, tax benefits and investments”.

“Women should also try to maintain pension contributions during maternity leave so as to keep NI credits towards their state pension.”

But what about those women who are already well down the career path?

“Increasing their regular contribution, even by a little, can make a difference to the final sum available” Corinthian suggest, “women tend to be less confident in their knowledge of pensions (just 5% described their understanding as ‘very good’ versus 18% of men)* and seeking appropriate advice at any stage is also a sensible option.”

If you would like to discuss your pension contributions, please get in touch. The Corinthian team are here to help. [email protected]

* Research conducted by Censuswide for AJ Bell between 08.02.2019 – 14.02.2019, with 554 respondents (aged 55+) that have entered pension income drawdown since April 2015. Censuswide abide by and employ members of the Market Research Society which is based on the ESOMAR principles.