Toshiba Information Systems is considering introducing a flexible benefits package to avoid setting up a stakeholder pension scheme.
The company already runs an occupational money purchase pension scheme, but because certain employees – such as temporary staff and contract workers – are excluded from the main fund, it may have to introduce a stakeholder scheme to run alongside it. Although this remains an option, the company is also considering a flexible benefits package.
Lisa Patel, client account manager at consultancy Gissings, which is advising the company, said a flexible package would be open to all employees and so get around the occupational pension scheme access requirements laid out in the stakeholder regulations.
Each employee would receive a set amount to spread across their benefits, the amount dependent on the employee’s position. The company would stipulate a minimum contribution to be made from this amount into the pension scheme.
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Through this set-up the pensions option in the flexible plan would be the only pensions scheme open to staff.
Patel stressed that TIS is still considering its position and that setting up a separate stakeholder pension scheme is not out of the question.
