Almost a third (31%) of UK professionals anticipate taking a sabbatical of at least six months before they retire, according to new research commissioned by Investec Wealth & Investment. Travel is the main driver behind taking a sabbatical, cited by 51% of respondents, followed by more family time (30%). A quarter (25%) of professionals are […]

New research shows that people over the age of 40 perform better on a three-day week than those working 55 hours or more. The Australian study found that participants’ cognitive functions began to slow down after 25 hours. Among the 3,000 men and 3,500 women who participated, test scores began to decrease once their week […]

Aviva’s Working Lives report shows both employers and employees have continued to welcome the Government’s decision to introduce auto-enrolment for company pension schemes. Three in five employers (61%) in Q1 2016 agree with making the workplace the focus for automatic pension savings – a slight increase from 58% in Q1 2013. Approval rises to 74% […]

A third of people aged over 50 who are employed in the private sector are now planning to retire later than they previously hoped, Aviva’s latest Working Lives report reveals. The 2016 report – which comprises research among UK private sector employers and employees – has a particular focus on workers aged over 50, following […]

Employers are shifting the responsibility of ensuring pension contributions do not break new lower annual allowances to staff, research from employee benefits consultancy Portus shows. Its study among HR directors across a range of sectors shows 60% of companies will ensure staff are fully informed of new rules but will rely on higher earners to […]

Salary sacrifice for pension contributions could be banned in the national budget to head off its use by higher earners to beat the introduction of flat-rate tax relief, employee benefits consultancy Portus warns. The schemes – which minimise National Insurance contributions for employers and employees and are currently used mainly by lower and middle earners […]

Women are more likely to continue working in their 70s than men, according to research by Nationwide. A study of 2,000 Brits in their 70s revealed that more than a fifth of women do part-time or occasional work, while another fifth work full time. That means more than four in 10 women in the age […]

Employers are increasingly deciding that the safest course of action is to assume annual pension contribution allowances are limited to £10,000 for higher paid staff to avoid the risk of unexpected tax charges, leading employee benefits consultancy Portus warns. It says employers are worried their staff could face tax charges before it is too late […]

A new retirement report by insurance provider Royal London warns that those entering the workforce now will have no choice but to work into their late 70s in order to retire with a similar pension to their parents’ generation. The study, titled The Death of Retirement, looks at how long people will have to remain […]