Marks & Spencer and Kellogg's among first to receive award for commitment to employees' retirement savings
21/09/2009
Marks & Spencer plc and Kellogg’s are among the first seven companies to be awarded the prestigious new Pension Quality Mark, launched today by the NAPF.
The Pension Quality Mark will help employers demonstrate the value of their defined contribution (DC) pension scheme and, by making workplace pensions more understandable and attractive, encourage more employees to join.
The awards, presented by Angela Eagle MP, Minister of State for Pensions and the Ageing Society, certify that the companies’ DC pension schemes have met the key qualifying criteria on contribution rates, governance and communications. The other companies in the first wave to be awarded the Pension Quality Mark are Accenture, BG Group, IBM, Standard Life and The Royal College of Physicians.
The Pension Quality Mark will help employers attract new staff and get more employees to join their pension scheme, NAPF research shows. More than two thirds (67%) of employees looking for a new job said that a Pension Quality Mark would make them look more favourably on a potential employer, while over half of employees (52%) said that an independent quality mark awarded to their employer’s scheme would make it more likely that they would join.
Joanne Segars, NAPF Chief Executive, said:
“The Pension Quality Mark is an exciting new initiative which will benefit both employers and employees. It shows these employers’ commitment to encouraging their staff to save for retirement, which is becoming ever more vital.”
“The Pension Quality Mark will also help to rebuild and promote public confidence in workplace pensions. I urge more employers to apply so that they can tell the story of their good quality schemes with confidence.”
Lynn Collins, Head of Corporate Pensions, Marks & Spencer said:
“We are delighted to have been awarded the Pensions Quality Mark. It will give us an edge over our competitors and makes sound business sense. We always try to be competitive and offer great benefits and this pension scheme is a good example of our approach to reward”.
The scheme has been warmly welcomed by the pensions industry, employer and employee bodies, consumer organisations and the Pensions Regulator.
Tony Hobman, Chief Executive at the Pensions Regulator, said:
"With volatile markets and a changing pensions landscape it is more important than ever at this time to ensure that standards in pension scheme management continue to improve. We encourage any initiative by the pension industry that pushes the quality of pensions and encourages higher standards of governance and member communications."
Doug Taylor, Personal Finance Campaigns Manager at Which? said:
“By providing a benchmark, the Pension Quality Mark can help people judge the quality of the pension scheme offered and companies will be able to easily promote that aspect of their employment package.”
