EXCLUSIVE: Martindale Pharma has increased take-up of its pension scheme by 10% after reviewing and revamping its pension and benefits package.
The pharmaceutical organisation began its review in April 2012 for all 350 of its employees. In doing so it aimed to: create a more competitive package; obtain a return on investment on its benefits spend; improve its benefits communication; prepare for auto-enrolment; and intorduce pensions salary sacrifice.
Following a review of its existing pension scheme, Martindale Pharma introduced a new group personal pension scheme with the help of advisor Secondsight.
It communicated the new scheme using a personalised pension pack for employees. This included an insight into what employees’ contribution meant in monetary terms, investment examples, and what the cost would be if they opted to join the scheme via a salary sacrifice arrangement.
Employees were also invited to attend pension education presentations, at which they could also join the GPP.
As a result:
- Employees are now saving more, with the average employee contribution increasing to 5.4%.
- 73% of employees have made an active fund choice, whereas previously just two had done so.
- 67% of employees say their opinion of their employer and the benefits has increased.
The savings made from its pensions salary sacrifice arrangement mean that the pension project was cost neutral for Martindale Pharma, with additional savings being put towards pensions auto-enrolment, ahead of its January 2014 staging date.
Keith Baker, compensation and benefits manager at Martindale Pharma, said: “As an organisation we strive to make lives better, particularly for our employees. In order to meet this pledge, we knew we needed to improve our benefits offering.
“As soon as we met the team at Secondsight we knew [it] would fit with our business and the messaging we actively promote.”