Category: News

23 November 2020

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

Please find attached our Q3 2020 Investment Round Up Newsletter.

Growth across the UK economy had faded after a record recovery over the summer, raising fears of a renewed contraction in the last three months of the year.

Data released showed that UK GDP expanded by 15.5.% in July-September, the fastest increase on record as the economy emerged from its spring shutdown. However, growth slowed during the summer, with GDP expanding by just 1.1% in September – weaker than economists expected. That followed 9.1% in June, 6.3% in July, and 2.2% in August.

The return of children to school boosted activity in the education sector. Housebuilding also continued to recover, while business strengthened for lawyers and accountants after a poor August.

However, pubs and restaurants saw less business, after the ‘eat out to help out’ scheme ended, and accommodation saw less business after a successful summer.

We continue to watch the markets and economy together with developments around the second lockdown measures easing.

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

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

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.

1. Always reject unexpected offers – this includes phone calls, emails, online or postal.
2. Check who you are dealing with. You can view a list of all authorised organisations on the FCA register.
3. 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.
4. 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. 

 

 

The key role played by the group risk industry in keeping the economy going was recently acknowledged in the House of Lords. The important influence the industry plays in keeping healthy, productive and wealthy was highlighted during a debate on the economic lessons of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This is a long-term challenge” Lord Hunt of Wirral commented “brought into sharp, short term relief. I strongly commend to my noble friend the Minister the initiatives from GRiD, the Group Risk Development organisation, set up by the insurance sector to address these challenges.”

“Of course, free enterprise will have to be the principal driver of recovery, but it is none the less incumbent on all one-nation Conservatives to ensure that for a stronger economy and a stronger society in the post-pandemic world.”

Group Risk Development (GRiD) is the industry body for the group risk protection sector, promoting the value to British businesses of providing financial protection for their staff, enhancing their wellbeing and engagement.

“We’re really pleased that GRiD has been directly recognised as having an important part to play in the longer-term challenges facing employers in the recovery from the pandemic” commented GRiD spokesperson Katherine Moxham.

“This is about much more than the physical adaptations employers will need to make to places of work to ensure employees can return safely, it’s also about the changes they will need to make to improve ways of managing sickness and absence, and this is something the group risk industry is very experienced in.”

As Britain emerges from total lockdown, all employers will have to adapt, and not only through social distancing. The Corinthian team are fully prepared to help your business and employees back to work. If you would like to discuss the range of solutions available please get in touch at [email protected]