Glasgow Business . 45
www.glasgowchamberofcommerce.com
POWERED UP FOR RESULTS
Scotland’s businesses come together for Glasgow 2014 A
round 75 of Scotland’s senior business leaders met recently at Aggreko’s global manufacturing hub in Dumbarton to kickstart
the company’s campaign to build a lasting Commonwealth Games legacy for Glasgow. Te event was atended by Commonwealth
Games Organising Commitee Chairman, Lord Smith of Kelvin, and Team GB Olympic Men’s Curling Captain, David Murdoch, and saw the FTSE-100 company unveil a specially- commissioned artwork generator to celebrate the Games. Te generator will become a familiar feature for spectators outside many of the Games’ stadiums and venues. Under the banner ‘Generating Powerful
Partnerships’, it is hoped that the Aggreko event will spark new shared opportunities for Scotland’s businesses and communities as a result of Glasgow hosting the XX Commonwealth Games. Aggreko will supply temporary power as well
as temperature control services to 29 competition and non-competition Games venues, including several stadiums, the Operations Centre and Athletes’ Village. It will also supply the International Broadcast Centre at the SECC.
Angus Cockburn, Interim Chief Executive Officer of Aggreko, Team GB Olympic Men’s Curling Captain, David Murdoch and Commonwealth Games
Organising Committee Chairman, Lord Smith of Kelvin ‘Pension cap bad news for employees’
Pensions Minister Steve Webb has confirmed that, from April 2015, the Government will cap charges on workplaces pensions at 0.75 per cent per annum.
It is difficult to argue with lower
charges, and any price reductions can help boost the pension pots of employees in the years ahead. However, there is a danger that lowering charges generally could lead to possible unintended consequences. Sean McSweeney, Auto
Enrolment Specialist at Chase de Vere, said: “Too many company pension schemes offer poor value to employees and steps need to be taken to address this. “However, we are concerned
that a cap at 0.75 per cent could result in employees being faced
with less choice, inferior products and a lack of ongoing service.” Product providers are already
being very selective about the employers they’ll offer pension schemes to and on what terms. They ideally want to work with companies that have high-earning employees who make large payments into their pensions. However, as pension
auto enrolment encompasses smaller firms which may not have vast numbers of high earners, providers are becoming even more selective. A charge cap at 0.75 per cent will force providers to put aside greater
capital reserves and this will make it difficult for them to offer terms to more companies. Ron Peden (pictured), Corporate
Pensions Specialist at Chase de Vere, based in Glasgow, added: “We are working with employers to help them implement auto enrolment. In most cases, the pension scheme terms we can access are significantly below the 0.75 per cent cap. However, there will be instances where charges might need to be higher
to secure the right scheme and ongoing support for an employer and their employees.” All of this will create extra work
for employers. As well as new auto enrolment schemes having to meet the charge cap, many existing pensions will need to be reviewed to ensure they comply as well. Ron Peden said: “While it is easy
to claim that cheaper is better, we would have liked a cap initially set at one per cent, with an expectation that most new pension schemes will charge significantly less. This would have been less burdensome for many employers. “Employers yet to implement
auto enrolment need to take independent advice as soon as possible so they can understand what they need to do and by when, while those with existing pension schemes now need to ensure that they are still considered fit for purpose.”
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