Scottish Life launches “salary sacrifice” support pack for employers and advisers
Wednesday, 27 August 2008
Scottish Life, the pensions specialist arm of the Royal London Group, has relaunched a range of support material for employers and advisers to help them set up and run successful salary sacrifice schemes.
Scottish Life believes that salary sacrifice schemes provide an attractive and cost-effective pensions solution. Salary sacrifice can be set up so that more money is invested in pension schemes but with both employer and employee ending up in a financially neutral position.
As well as a new online calculator, supporting material includes a technical guide for financial advisers, a guide for employers, a guide and 'ready reckoner' for employees and a series of presentations for both advisers and employers.
Salary sacrifice schemes can be run in conjunction with either a new or existing pension scheme as a way of increasing contributions.
Jamie Clark, Occupational Pensions Marketing Manager at Scottish Life said:
"After a period of uncertainty following the removal of the Home Computing Initiative Scheme in 2006, salary sacrifice is enjoying something of a renaissance, with many large employers in the UK now offering this as part of the benefits package.
"In the run up to the proposed launch of Personal Accounts, employers who want to keep their existing pension scheme running will want to drive home the value of the scheme to employees. Setting up a salary sacrifice arrangement is a cost-effective way of doing this. It provides an excellent opportunity for employers to demonstrate the value they place on the pension scheme and their employees.
"Whilst a reduction in salary may seem an unattractive option, an arrangement can be structured so that employees' take home pay stays the same while pension contributions are higher.
"Our new material aims to give both advisers and employers everything they need to set up and run a successful salary sacrifice arrangement."
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For further information please contact:
Scottish Life
Alasdair Buchanan
Head of Communications
Tel: 0131 456 7133
Polhill Communications
Jenette Greenwood
Tel: 020 7655 0530
Editor's Notes:
Scottish Life was founded in 1881 in Edinburgh as a proprietary company, becoming a mutual company in 1968.
On 1 July 2001, Scottish Life demutualised and transferred its business to The Royal London Mutual Insurance Society Limited. Scottish Life is a division of Royal London and is the specialist pensions business within the Group, providing individual and group pensions to the market via intermediaries.
Scottish Life and Royal London's other intermediary businesses are based mainly in Edinburgh where 1,200 staff are employed, with 600 working in other parts of the UK and overseas.
Royal London Group is a specialist financial service provider. Its businesses focus on those sectors of the market which value quality propositions, operating through a number of brands:
- Scottish Life – UK pensions market
- Bright Grey – UK protection market
- Scottish Provident – UK protection market
- Phoenix Life Assurance Limited – provides life and pensions products to Abbey's national branch network
- Scottish Life International – offshore investment markets
- Scottish Provident International – offshore investment markets
- RLAM – fund management
- RLAS – life and pensions administration
- Fundsdirect / Ascentric – funds supermarket; Wrap platform
Royal London is the largest mutual life and pensions company in the UK with Group funds under management of £32.4 billion. Group businesses serve around three million customers and employ 2,750 people. Figures quoted are as at 30 June 2008, prior to the acquisition of Scottish Provident's new business capabilities (in respect of individual life protection business)and of Phoenix Life Assurance Limited.