Delivering £90k Savings While Enhancing Employee Benefits

Background

In 2020, our client appointed us to advise on and manage their employee benefits. While they offered a comprehensive range of Group Risk benefits, the structure was complex and costly to administer. Alongside cost control, concerns around benefit appropriateness and poor accounting quickly emerged.

Our Approach

We conducted a strategic review of the Group Risk benefits, reducing annual spend from £290,000 to £200,000. This review considered new pension arrangements, Salary Sacrifice, and alternative market options, enabling us to deliver significant improvements across cost, administration, and compliance.

Outcomes

Cost – Given the economic climate, cost reduction was a priority. By changing provider, we secured a GLA premium saving of £39,000 per annum without reducing cover.

Administration – We prioritised service as well as price. Moving to a new provider enabled all administration, including medical underwriting, to be completed online. Consolidating data into a single portal simplified premium accounting and improved data quality, delivering a modern, scalable solution that sped up processes and enhanced oversight.

Regulation – We took a proactive approach to legislative changes, introducing Excepted Life Assurance cover to mitigate the impact of Lifetime Allowance reductions for senior employees – a risk the client was previously unaware of. We also supported clear staff communications and implemented our Excepted Life Master Trust for added flexibility.

Death in Service Pension (DISP) – We advised the Trustees to commute the existing DISP arrangement to an additional lump sum, addressing rising premium rates in a shrinking market. This change streamlined administration and reduced premium costs by 70%, with a structure that continues to deliver savings as members age.

Additional Savings

Group Income Protection (GIP) – The client’s GIP scheme, covering employees to age 65, was costly and misaligned with actual return-to-work patterns. We restructured the benefit to a five-year payment term, followed by a lump sum to support leaving service plans. This achieved 36% premium savings and improved service.

Expanding Benefits – Savings of £90,000 allowed the client to enhance their benefits package by introducing a company-funded Health Cash Plan for all employees, covering PMI excess costs.

Impact

Through strategic advice and market insight, we delivered substantial cost savings, streamlined administration, and improved compliance – while enabling the client to reinvest in benefits that matter to their people.