Flex-Benefits: An introduction

Lawrence Miller & Co is an Independent financial adviser based in Llantarnam, between Cwmbran and Newport.

 





We have, for many years, produced a newsletter aimed at our 450 private clients which has helped communicate industry changes and investment opportunities.

The launch of an additional newsletter, aimed at fellow professionals, underlines our belief that the provision of advice to employers and their staff will be a major growth area over the next few years. Directors and managers will be increasingly keen to ensure their own financial well-being. However, the employer that takes away from their staff the need for them to seek unbiased advice will have the edge when it comes to flexible remuneration and staff retention.

 



2012 sees the introduction of compulsion to work place pensions. The word itself tends to wrankle with the mind set of an entrepreneur or successful manager as it more than smacks of being told what to do.

 



The reality is that most employers will be making pension contributions or at least offering to do so. The opportunity within the enforced change is to address the whole issue of employee benefits and, where possible, within existing budgets or perhaps encompassing this year’s pay review, build a system that takes away the responsibility for the employer and offers the employee a tailored solution to their individual financial need.

 

 

What are Flex-Benefits?

An arbitrary level of death in service benefit, pension contribution and sick pay are, increasingly, below the expectation of key staff, leaving them still with a need to seek bespoke advice, such that their planning reflects their actual circumstances.

 



Flexible, pre-costed, menu driven benefits are increasingly the norm. The employer chooses the content of the menu and fixes the cost; chooses the criteria for membership and facilitates a meeting with each member of staff.

 



The outcome is a position where every member of staff can have a different mix of benefits that accurately reflects their personal circumstances at a fixed cost to them and you. The employee can choose to contribute more from their own pocket if they so wish and the whole of their planning is completely portable should they ever choose to leave your employment.

 



The employer has no liability for advice, admin, suitability or service. The employer simply agrees the menu content and pays over the fixed monthly deductions from payroll.