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Positive press for pensions
Positive press
for pensions
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Individuals and employers have at times had a negative perception of pensions. The many legislative changes that have been imposed on pensions and the misunderstanding of how these affect individuals have
contributed WORDS BY EMILY MILLER
Over the years, individuals and employers have at times had a negative perception of pensions. Some of this has been due to the many legislative changes successive governments have imposed on pensions and, sometimes, the misunderstanding of how these affect individuals.
Here we speak with financial adviser John Woolhouse about modern pension solutions and how these can benefit employers as well as employees and how to make your pension work for you.
“Providing a pension scheme for your employees became mandatory in 2012 with the advent of auto enrolment, so firms need to ensure they have one to begin with,” John tells me. “Whilst some might see this responsibility as a burden, it provides the employer with an opportunity – the tax efficient extraction of profits from your business and the potential to invest in and support your business in other ways, too.”
As an employer, you can direct up to £40,000 of profits into your pension each year mitigating 19% corporation tax on the amount contributed and reducing income tax you might otherwise pay on drawing these profits from the business, according to John.
“If your company owns its own office or other commercial property, these can be held within a specific type of pension known as a SASS, depending on the value and pension benefits within the business. This structure can allow you to release capital for the business to invest in other areas and increase company growth. Within limits, you are able to borrow against the property value within the pension, and income can be paid as rent within the pension scheme, ensuring tax efficient pension growth.”
Structuring your pension in the right way can also reduce national insurance contributions for both employer and employee through salary sacrifice arrangements. He explains: “This saving can allow you to provide other benefits to employees such as death in service benefits, provide greater sick pay arrangements or other perks which, due to the saving on national insurance, could come at no additional cost to the employer and instead act as incentives to improve the lives and loyalty of staff.
“Many have preconceived ideas about pensions and we work with firms to highlight the benefits they can bring to business owners and their specific business and individual needs. The specific benefits should be discussed with an adviser; someone who can look at the whole of the company who will then advise on the best possible pension plans for you as an adviser and a company.”
These facts and figures were correct at the time of writing in March, and Furnley House states that: ‘Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance’. They advise that the value of an investment and the income from it could go down as well as up, and also that the return at the end of the investment period is not guaranteed and you may get back less than you originally invested.
Readers can contact Furnley House for further guidance on 0116 269 6311.
WHILST SOME MIGHT SEE THIS RESPONSIBILITY AS A BURDEN, IT PROVIDES THE EMPLOYER WITH AN OPPORTUNITY
NELSONS:
by Leicester’s side
It’s been a year since top law firm Nelsons made their cover debut with Niche Magazine, and in that time they have supported the Leicestershire business community through a monumental year. Emily Miller catches up with the award-winning team to talk pandemic recovery, Leicester’s growth and a bright future
NICHE COVER STORY NELSONS
We are very proud of the work that we have done, not just over the past year, to help local businesses achieve their objectives and goals,” Stewart Vandermark, chief executive of Nelsons, told me.
“Leicester has a dynamic and diverse economy built on an entrepreneurial spirit. The city has shown great resilience and adaptability during the pandemic and we’re excited to be part of its next chapter.”
Recognised and recommended by the leading, independently researched Legal 500 in more than 18 practice areas as well as Chambers and Partners and The Lawyer’s Top 200 UK law firms annual report, Nelsons has proven to be hugely impactful in our business community and local economy.
With the pandemic having made a huge impact on cities across the UK, Leicester has certainly been no exception. In fact, the city’s economy shrunk by 12.2% in 2020, according to the PwC Good Growth Index, and is now growing at a rate of 2.6% a year, according to The Business Desk.
The business services team has provided high level assistance in Leicestershire, with advice on commercial agreements, corporate services and restructuring, commercial property and employment to continue to support the business community as the city emerges from the pandemic.
From build-to-rent schemes to innovative bar and experience ventures, Nelsons is advising several visionary organisations that can see the potential demand for highquality hospitality and ‘experience’ offerings in the city centre. Alongside this, the corporate team has advised on more than 35 deals in 2021, with an aggregate deal value of more than £160m, demonstrating just a small selection of the work that the business services teams have been involved in over the past year.
But it’s not just business services that Nelsons supports. The firm bolstered several departments through new appointments and awards recognition in 2021. The family department was shortlisted at the national Family Law Awards while partner and head of the Leicester family team Glynis Wright MBE was highly commended in the ‘Woman Solicitor of the Year’ category at the Law Society Awards. Clinical negligence partner Matthew Olner has also recently been appointed president of Leicestershire Law Society.
“Despite the challenges that we’ve had to navigate over the past few years due to the ongoing pandemic, I’m incredibly proud of the whole team at Nelsons,” Stewart added. “At the heart of everything we do is to empower our clients and our teams, and we’ve put a lot of emphasis on this over the past year.”
In addition to being recognised by The Lawyer as a top 200 firm in the UK, Nelsons secured accreditation from The Law Society in its annual Lexcel Audit for the sixteenth year running. The report described the firm as having an ‘enviable reputation’ and praised how its colleagues ‘pulled
together’ during the continued turbulence of the pandemic and proved their ‘ability to adapt in times of crisis, pushing for ways to enable its team to ‘be the best they can possibly be’.
Moving into the new financial year, 2022 sees the culmination of Nelsons’ vision, which began in 2018, and set out an exciting plan for a cultural rejuvenation, by defining its purpose and strategy with ambitious plans for growth. This has led to a period of sustained growth through the firm, as it is on course to achieve 25% growth in this period; with Leicester on track to achieve an incredible 50% growth.
Not a company to rest on its laurels, the focus now shifts to the next three years, with the creation of a new vision to build on the results it has achieved and maintain the positive momentum in Leicester and across the region as a whole.
Stewart said: “While now is a good time to reflect on the past few years, it is equally as important to look forward and ensure that we continue with the upward trajectory we’ve worked so hard to maintain.
“Like many businesses, we have had to be reactive since 2020, due to the ever-changing nature of the pandemic, but it has helped us to have a clear vision of where we have been heading to help us steer through this time. As we look forward, now is the perfect time to refocus on why we do what we do and clarify our targets for the next period of growth.”
Leicester has shown huge resilience and fortitude since the global pandemic – and with what we have achieved this last year alone imagine what we could achieve as we look to the future with firms like Nelsons by our side.
The latest Nelsons news, blogs and events can be found at nelsonslaw.co.uk.
TOP LAWYERS
Nelsons was formed in 1983 by Tim Hastings and two other solicitors in a small Nottingham office. Since then, they’ve grown to become one of the leading law firms in the East Midlands with offices in Derby, Leicester and Nottingham. They’ve been recognised by The Legal 500, Chambers and Partners and also featured in The Lawyer’s annual report of the UK’s largest 200 law firms.
