Case Study: Providing an Isle of Man Company Pension Scheme - Is it too complicated?

June 5, 2023

‘It’s all a bit too complicated, time consuming and expensive.’

Over the years (and there have been many!), I’ve lost count of the of the number of times HR and Company Directors have said this to me.

But providing a quality pension scheme (and let’s face it, to be competitive in today’s market this is commonly expected) doesn’t need to be any of those adjectives. To illustrate this, here is a case study. If this rings some bells, feel free to get in touch with me for a no obligation chat.

Background

Helen is responsible for HR, among other things, at a company in Douglas, Isle of Man. Originally set up ten years ago with just three employees, the company has grown steadily and now employs 20.

Dilemma

Helen recently made a job offer to an excellent candidate for the newly created Accounts Team Leader vacancy, which was rejected in favour of another offer. Upon investigation, Helen discovered that, while the candidate was happy with the proposed salary, the other employer had offered additional benefits, including a pension scheme.

When Helen asked her director why a company pension scheme wasn’t offered, she was told it was probably very complicated, time consuming and would require someone to administer it - which the company didn’t have the capacity for.

Solution

Helen spoke to Boal & Co about its Rewards group personal pension plan and was pleasantly surprised by the straightforward process. Boal & Co offered to present to the staff to explain the scheme and provide pre-filled application forms for all members. They would also guide her through the admin process.

The only ongoing admin requirements would be a monthly deduction from payroll (which could be automated) along with a simple monthly return listing the amounts paid for each member of staff and the notification of new joiners and leavers to Boal & Co.

For the investments, there was an option for members to default to a ‘lifestyle’ strategy or select their own investment funds from a designated range. Helen spoke to a local financial adviser who agreed to meet the staff to discuss if they wished to make their own investment choices.

Conclusion

The pension scheme was set up in time for the following month’s payroll and the staff were delighted. Helen and her colleagues were also happy to learn that pensions from previous employment could be moved into Rewards to consolidate them into an inexpensive, modern and flexible Isle of Man based pension scheme – making life easier and cheaper.

When the next candidate interviewed for the vacancy asked, ‘I assume there is a pension scheme?’, Helen shared the details of their attractive scheme…and she starts with the company in a month’s time.

While this case study is (somewhat) fictional, it is a genuine illustration of the process. Yes, if you are a big corporate and want to set up your own bespoke pension scheme and be trustees on it, we can do that for you. However, if you are a smaller business just wishing to offer a quality, cost efficient scheme to your employees with little admin burden, we can certainly help with that too. Want to know more? Chat to me!

This case study is based on Rewards which is an Isle of Man Group Personal Pension for Isle of Man employers/employees. However, we have options for employers anywhere in the world – explore our website or get in touch to find out more.