Concert Consulting’s Head of Operations is nominated as a Rising Star 2020!
Our very own Lee Bacon has been nominated for a Rising Star Award as Mentor of the Year 2020.
Posted on 19 December 2019 – Read more →
December 2019
Property vs Pensions: pros and cons
The property vs pension debate continues. For those involved in the pensions industry, it’s depressing that this debate is still going on.
Posted on 17 December 2019 – Read more →
Pension reforms expected after Tory majority
Following the Conservative Party’s comprehensive victory in the general election, sweeping pension system reforms are expected.
Posted on 16 December 2019 – Read more →
Navigating a changing landscape - Annuities
The decision about how to access a pension pot is perhaps trickier than it’s ever been.
Posted on 09 December 2019 – Read more →
Pensions boosted under proposed living wage
Increasing the national living wage to an hourly rate of £10.50 would result in a pension boost of £333.
Posted on 03 December 2019 – Read more →
November 2019
Property vs Pensions
When it comes to saving money for retirement, the number of people who prefer property to pensions is on the rise.
Posted on 21 November 2019 – Read more →
Customer retention is a growing challenge for Life and Pension providers
It’s difficult to provide the best customer experience if you can’t get in touch with your lost customers. With 11% of the UK population moving house every year and an average of 2% to 5% of all mail returned to sender, this is a growing challenge for life insurance and pension providers.
Posted on 12 November 2019 – Read more →
Over 60s miss out on thousands of pounds of pension savings
Savers over the age of 60 are throwing away up to £1.75bn in pension contributions by opting out of their workplace schemes, according to figures from Royal London.
Posted on 06 November 2019 – Read more →
October 2019
Encouraging loyalty and retention within Financial Services
The emergence of online comparison sites over the past 15 years has given customers a wider choice when buying financial product. For brands this means it’s increasingly difficult to connect with customers to provide a positive brand experience.
Posted on 29 October 2019 – Read more →
Customer experience is king – but marketers still struggle to understand their audience
In an increasingly connected world, customers expect real and authentic interactions with brands.
Posted on 24 October 2019 – Read more →
High Court ruling on compensation for women's state pension age changes
The High Court has ruled that women are not entitled to compensation for state pension age changes. Campaigners have lost a significant legal battle against the government’s handling of the rise in women’s state pension age.
Posted on 07 October 2019 – Read more →
September 2019
August 2019
Quiz – Could you spot a pensions scam?
The law recently changed to help crack down on pension scams but would you spot a pension scam if you saw or heard one? Take this quiz to find out….
Posted on 27 August 2019 – Read more →
The importance of accessibility in web applications
What is accessibility? Why is it important? We look into what it means to make a website accessible and how you could be breaking the law if you don't.
Posted on 15 August 2019 – Read more →
Every picture tells a story
Often businesses find it very difficult to choose the right images for their website, social media and other marketing communications. This is particularly the case in service-based industries, but there are still many ways to tell your story visually and capture the members’ attention.
Posted on 09 August 2019 – Read more →
July 2019
Work and Pensions Minister Amber Rudd remains in post
Boris Johnson’s taking the reigns as Britain’s latest Prime Minister heralded a new era for British politics. The Department of Work and Pensions is one of the few where the status quo remains.
Posted on 26 July 2019 – Read more →
Working in Concert
Ever wondered what our creative process looks like?
Posted on 22 July 2019 – Read more →
Gamification – is it winning?
Surely claiming that playing a video game that involves collecting coins can help encourage people to save more for retirement is like saying playing Space Invaders can help to increase the likelihood of people joining the Inter-Planetary Diplomatic Corps…
Posted on 17 July 2019 – Read more →
June 2019
How to spill coffee and influence people
Omar is a regular guy who was frankly unimpressed with his daughter’s strong affiliation with various social media influencers, claiming that ‘anyone could do that’. He then went on to prove his point by creating his own Instagram influencer account...
Posted on 19 June 2019 – Read more →
5g and You
The much anticipated fifth generation standard for cellular network communications, 5g, looks set to revolutionise the way we use the internet.
Posted on 12 June 2019 – Read more →
How Brexit delay is affecting pensions
The Brexit process now seems likely to run until October 2019.
Posted on 03 June 2019 – Read more →
May 2019
Don’t forget your pension
When people move to a new job, they often move to a new pension plan. The problem is that they also ‘leave’ their old pension and can forget about it.
Posted on 27 May 2019 – Read more →
GMP equalisation delayed by HMRC
Earlier this month, HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) announced that data needed to enable pension schemes to confirm the guaranteed minimum pension (GMP) benefits payable to members won’t be available as planned.
Posted on 20 May 2019 – Read more →
Making plans with Nationwide
It was great to see Ness, Amanda and Helen at our offices this week for a planning meeting.
Posted on 13 May 2019 – Read more →
Pensions – Are You Saving Enough?
ITV’s “Tonight” aired a program last week questioning whether the general public are saving enough for a comfortable retirement. “Pensions – Are you saving enough?” challenged three working volunteers to live on their future predicted pension pots for a week to investigate.
Posted on 06 May 2019 – Read more →
April 2019
Auto-enrolment contributions to increase
The contribution you make to your pension is set to increase on the 6th of April of this year (2019).
Posted on 29 April 2019 – Read more →
Pensions Lifetime Allowance is set to rise
From the 6th of April 2019, the Lifetime Allowance is set to increase. The Lifetime Allowance is the amount of money that you can put in to your pension savings, before tax charges apply.
Posted on 22 April 2019 – Read more →
March 2019
February 2019
Concert’s crystal ball
With the start of the new tax year on the horizon, many organisations are looking ahead to 2019/20.
Posted on 25 February 2019 – Read more →
When communication doesn’t help
As communication consultants, you’d be forgiven for thinking our perspective would be ‘all publicity is good publicity’ but there are times when that’s not necessarily the case. This is one of them.
Posted on 18 February 2019 – Read more →
Should Trustees take professional communications help?
Last week, Professional Pensions publicised the results of its ‘Pensions Buzz’ that asked the question ‘do trustees need professional help with communications’?
Posted on 11 February 2019 – Read more →
Concert Consulting appoints Lee Bacon as Head of Production
Lee joins Concert with a specific focus on managing our digital, design and production hub in Bristol. Lee’s appointment is Concert’s second major appointment in the last quarter, following the recent recruitment of Jerry Edmondson as Consulting Director, as the business continues to expand.
Posted on 04 February 2019 – Read more →
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View further insights
For additional insights across broader pensions and benefits topics, check out Buck’s latest thinking.