Category: Corinthian News

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.

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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.

Corinthian Benefits has been closely monitoring the situation regarding COVID-19. This is a rapidly evolving situation and we are regularly monitoring and following guidance from Public Health England, the World Health Organisation as well as that of the Government.

The safety of our people and clients is our utmost priority. As a business, we have well established business continuity plans to respond to various crisis scenarios, including a pandemic.

With this in mind, we have taken precautionary measures to protect the health and safety of our workforce. In accordance with Government advice we have asked our client support team to work from home as of today – Thursday 19th March – and until further notice. Our Consultants, who work in client facing roles are already home-working and will ensure that we can continue to deliver good client service.

Keeping our business functional is a key priority. We have worked hard as a company to ensure business activities will go ahead with minimal disruption to our clients. This will mean that we will need to find alternative methods of communication and sharing information with you. Wherever possible, face to face meetings can be replaced using technology such as video calls.

Please be reassured that we are committed to providing you with the best service possible at this challenging time. We will be sending you communications over the coming days to help support you and your employees in times of financial and emotional upheaval.

Please also be reminded that we are able to talk to you and your employees about their financial situation, and offer some guidance to help support any concerns they have at this time.

In the meantime, we hope that you, your family and colleagues stay safe and well.