Salary exchange
If you are looking to reduce pension costs or develop the range of benefits you offer to employees, salary exchange can help.

Salary exchange can deliver substantial savings to both employer and employee by removing National Insurance liabilities on members’ payments to your pension scheme. How you use your savings is up to you, but they can then be used in a variety of ways, such as:

  • funding the implementation of salary exchange or other improvements to your employee benefits package
  • offering increased employer contributions
  • reducing the overall cost of your pension and employee benefits
 

 Overview

 
How we can help you

We can help you take advantage of salary exchange by establishing an arrangement that is legally compliant, simple to operate, saves you money and offers a valuable benefit to your employees.

Our service is tailored to the level of support you require, and includes:

  • feasibility and financial modelling
  • scheme rules and considerations
  • employee communication and implementation

We know that any decision affecting company finances must be carefully considered so we have developed interactive tools that can help you design, with confidence, a salary exchange scheme that is aligned with your overall financial and reward objectives.
 
 

 Insights and views

 
    High Earners & Contributors: Survival Guide
    10 September 2012
    Update: September 2012
     
    We are now producing additional survival guides on some of the more technical aspects of the new taxation regime. If you would like to see any of these notes, please contact Sarah Tolson for a copy.

    14: Multiple Normal Pension Ages and the annual allowance
    13: Scheme pays in the year of retirement
    12: How deferred members may be caught by the annual allowance charge
    11: Using pension benefits to pay the annual allowance charge: scheme pays in practice
    10: HMRC provides further detail on fixed protection
    9: HMRC revises its interpretation of the carry-forward rules
     
    Further notes will cover topics such as on the ‘carve-out’ from the annual allowance for deferred members, the valuation of benefits for the purpose of the annual allowance and the new ‘scheme pays’ provisions.
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    In the 2009 Budget, the Government announced fundamental changes to the way that pensions will be taxed from 2011 for high earners and introduced immediate measures designed to prevent individuals increasing their pension savings in anticipation of these changes.

    These changes will affect not just high earning individuals but also companies, trustees and pensions managers. At the Punter Southall Group, we can draw on a range of expertise to enable us to provide advice to all of these parties. We can ensure that:
    • companies have the right remuneration strategy in place for their key staff;
    • individuals make the right decisions on their pension based on their circumstances; and
    • trustees can implement the new information and administration requirements effectively.
    We are now launching our “High Earners & Contributors: Survival Guide”. Through a series of straightforward and focused briefing notes, we will help you to develop an understanding of the changes ahead and keep you up to date with developments as they occur.
     
    Note 6: What do the annual allowance changes mean for pension schemes?
     
    Note 5: More detail on the tax changes emerges
     
    Note 4: Annual allowance approach confirmed  
     
    Note 3: HM Treasury consults on alternative approach  
     
    Note 2: Annual allowance: an alternative universe 
     
    Note 1: High earners: five key tax changes – will you be ready?
     

     

    Read more
    DC Pensions Bulletin - April 2012
    30 April 2012
    In this issue
    • Auto-Enrolment Update
    • Other recent developments
    • The Pensions Regulator Focus
    • Window on the world: News from our International team
    • International Mobility
    • European developments
    • Publications round-up
    • Dates for your diary

    Download a copy


    Read more
    2012 Punter Southall DC survey
    1 February 2012
    Click here to request your copy
     

    The ten key findings of our new Survey, ‘The impact of auto-enrolment’, are summarised below:
    • Almost three quarters of companies intend to undertake a pension review (page 4)
    • Just 5% intend to engage with NEST (page 5)
    • Fewer than half knew their correct staging date (page 6)
    • 55% intending to maintain their current contribution structure do not have a sufficient minimum contribution level (page 6)
    • Employers considering offering alternatives to pension saving has dropped from 11% to just 3% (page 12)
    • 59% of employers with commission-based pension schemes are unaware of the impact of the RDR (page 13)
    • 70% of employers do not get asked questions about the performance of the funds their pension scheme members are investing in (page 16)
    • 44% believe the majority of their employees do not understand investment fund names (page 16)
    • A quarter of companies are willing to pay for improved pension communications (page 20)
    • 62% of companies do not review their pension scheme on an annual basis (page 21)
     
    Read more
    Expectations around DC governance
    23 November 2011
    The Pensions Regulator (the Regulator) has recently published a statement aimed at trustees of defined contribution (DC) schemes clarifying the behaviours expected from trustees in order to achieve good member outcomes. Over the coming months, the Regulator aims to publish a series of statements and tools to help define the criteria for a ‘good’ pension scheme.

    View the briefing note


    Read more
    Pensions bulletin - October 2011
    13 October 2011
    In this issue
     
    • Back to work for the Pensions Minister
    • Back to work: speed read
    • Behind the scenes
    • Other recent developments
    • Publications round-up
    • Dates for your diary
     
    Download a copy


    Read more
    Visit the Industry Insights page for news and views on the latest industry developments
 

 Events

 
    Auto-enrolment: Time for Action?
    21 May 2013
    Read more
    Auto-enrolment: Your Practical Guide
    11 June 2013
    Read more
    2013 Pensions Conference
    10 October 2013
    A Conference for Trustees, Finance Directors and Pension Managers
    Read more
    Auto-enrolment Workshop for HR and Payroll
    24 October 2013
    Read more
    Visit the Events area for all forthcoming Punter Southall seminars, conferences and events
    Speak to us
    Speak direct to our specialists in this area
    Nick Frankland
    Principal
    Email Nick
    Or call us on
    020 3327 5000
 

 DC Survey 2012

 
Now available! For more information and to request a copy: