Pensions Market
The market for pensions administrators across the UK and Ireland is fairly buoyant. In London and the South East, administrators with 3-5 years' relevant experience can expect to earn upto almost £31,000. Those who have taken the Qualification in Pensions Administration (QPA) as set by the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) continue to be highly sought after.
Interactive systems
There has been a proliferation of pensions consultancies relocating outside London to areas such as around the M25 and Birmingham, where overheads are lower. Pensions administrators, however, are still in demand regardless of where they live and boundaries between salaries across locations are diminishing.
As the pensions market continues to consolidate, the choices are becoming more limited - for those who outsource and for the employee. Ian Eggleden, president of the PMI, says, "A small number of firms now dominate the market, resulting in increased polarisation.
"Not only is the choice of third party pension administration becoming more limited - the impact on the employment market is that there are fewer firms to work for - but systems and procedures are in turn becoming more standardised."
The integration of web-based systems is another development that pension firms hope will improve communication and scheme implementation efficiencies. For instance, members may be able to have direct access to their pension scheme via their employer's intranet. "
Systems are becoming more interactive; as a result, two distinct employee types are emerging - the 'push-button' junior administrator and the administrator with formal QPA training," explains Ian Eggleden.
Specialist profession
With increasingly complex technical issues, legislative issues and the burden of red tape, administration is becoming a more specialist profession. There is a shortage of candidates with technical skills shortages and employers favour candidates who have made progress with professiona/l qualifications such as the QPA.
"Upon completion of the QPA, successful candidates are likely to have their success recognised by their employer. Administrators can often boost their salary by up to 10% by completing the exams."
Following redundancies at the end of the 'pensions mis-selling review', Hays Insurance and Financial Services has seen a significant number of candidates come onto the market. These candidates are finding it difficult to seek alternative employment in the pension market.
The line taken by many employers is that review experience is not as valuable as pension administration; however, those candidates who have made some progress with exams or have previous experience in pension administration outside of the review should still be able to find employment in the industry.
Improved benefits
Increasingly, employers are recognising the need to offer more than just an attractive basic salary and exam support to attract and retain their prized employees. A flexible benefits package is a tool that's being used in the 'war for talent'.
Flexible employment has meant that employers have had to adapt their employment strategies to suit the changing needs of the workforce with smaller and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) battling with the larger companies to secure the services of the best candidates.
While competition for places is very fierce, being able to offer an attractive salary and benefits package can often tip the balance in favour of those firms who are keeping up with the latest trends. Flexible working hours, pensions and other work-related perks are all extremely important parts of a company's recruitment and retention policy.
Take-home salaries offered are often not the decisive factors in candidates choosing one particular company over another as work-life balance issues are now taking on added importance.
"Provided employees have a flexible approach to their day-to-day work and are willing to adapt to the changing environment long-term and learn new skills, they are likely to be rewarded," concludes Ian Eggledon.
