Quantum Advisory, a leading independent financial services consultancy, delivered a pensions and employee benefits update to around 200 charity finance professionals at the Charity Finance Group’s Technical Update Conference on 13 March.
The Charity Finance Group is a charity that supports more than 1,450 charities to develop their finance management knowledge and skills through championing best practice, nurturing leadership and influencing policymakers.
Stuart Price, Partner and Actuary at Quantum Advisory, provided key insights into the latest developments, regulatory changes, and strategic considerations affecting charitable organisations and pensions during the online event. This included his thoughts on both the state pension and workplace pension schemes.
Stuart said:
“The state pension is funded from National Insurance contributions through the pay as you earn (PAYE) system and increases each April by the greater of 2.5%, inflation or earnings growth thanks to the triple lock. For the state pension to remain sustainable, either the state pension age will have to increase, the amount of state pension will have to reduce, or taxes will have to increase. Therefore, private pension saving is becoming even more crucial to allow individuals to retire with a decent level of income.
“Most employers in the private sector and third sector tend to offer defined contribution pension schemes as they provide cost certainty for employers, investment choice and multiple options at retirement for employees.”
Stuart also provided attendees, who represented a range of charitable organisations including foundations, with practical guidance on compliance, managing pension schemes and making decisions that align with charity goals.
The guidance included a particular focus on salary sacrifice for employee pension contributions, which could help to offset employer national insurance contributions which are set to increase in April, and non-pension benefits to support employee health and protect organisations.