The ever changing world of pensions and the massive increase in flexibility around access to pensions from next year will mean more and more employers will seek ways of providing face to face guidance to their staff. There is already a demand for this type of service for their senior staff.
Commenting on the increase in demand, Bhargaw Buddhdev, Actuary and Expert on Executive Pensions issues at Barnett Waddingham says:
“Face to face pension advice meetings can be expensive and therefore are not offered by employers to their entire workforce. However, increasingly, employers are opting to help their senior staff so that they can concentrate on their day jobs and not worry about pension issues.
“Many employers already pay for private medical cover for their senior staff so they do not have to join queues at NHS hospitals for medical treatment. Extending this principle, more and more employers are appointing consultants like myself to provide “face to face” meetings for senior staff who are affected by the reduction in the Annual Allowance and the Lifetime Allowance. The consultant’s role can be anything from educating the individual on how the changes will affect them, to providing detailed individual guidance on how to choose their retirement options to minimise the effect of tax changes on their personal circumstances.
“Just like private medical benefits, such “face to face” meetings are taxable benefits for senior staff, and any fees paid by the employer to specialist pensions consultants, are a taxable benefit for senior members of staff.
“Employers can arrange these “face to face” meetings in a number of ways, e.g.:
• Group sessions,
• Individual sessions on a limited basis, and
• Detailed individual advice
“Group sessions are very generic, but will deal effectively with the needs of over half of the senior staff, typically this is the most cost-effective option. Some employers will agree that they will meet the consultant’s cost of a one hour meeting. In a growing number of cases however, employers are appointing consultants to provide their senior staff with individual sessions with detailed advice.“
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