Scheme Design
A well-designed superannuation plan can greatly assist in meeting the human resource objectives of an organisation and provide a valued benefit to staff.
Employee benefits of this type provide depth to an organisation's remuneration options, much more so than the one-dimensional, cash-only approach which was developed in the 1990s, and which is now giving way to a menu of choices for employees.
National Benefits can design a superannuation plan for your organisation which will place it at the competitive edge of its industry. By benchmarking benefit levels to those of other organisations which compete in the same pool for staff, and formulating a benefit design which exactly corresponds with your organisation's needs, you can ensure that this increasingly important component of compensation does not leave you trailing in the marketplace.
Design Parameters
Some of the major design parameters for an employee superannuation plan are:
- Eligibility for membership
- Admission to membership
- Categories of membership
- Termination of membership
- Member contribution rates
- Employer contribution rates
- Variable contribution rates
- Voluntary contributions
- Transfers into the scheme
- Leave of absence
- Salary sacrifice
- Member accounts
- Scheme accounts
- Administration fees
- Investment charges
- Expense attribution
- Investment strategies
- Investment choice
- Switching options
- In-service benefits
- Leaving service benefits
- Death benefits
- Disablement benefits
- Portability
- Benefit deferrals
- Benefit assignments
- Scheme transfers
- Termination provisions.
Design Specification
The formulation of a design for an employee superannuation scheme is the result of careful research and an understanding of what the organisation is attempting to achieve. It means identifying the specific types of benefit which are most valued by staff, whether by staff survey, focus groups or other means.
It also means identifying the specific types of benefits which are of most value to the organisation, not simply from a human resource perspective, but from financial and operational viewpoints.
The ultimate benefit design which is formulated for an organisation's insurance plan is embodied within a detailed design specification. That design specification forms the basis of the documentation required for a competitive market tender.
Further Information
If you feel that your organisation could benefit from an independent review of its superannuation scheme design, or if you are contemplating the introduction of a new scheme, please contact us.
If you are not sure of whether a review is appropriate in your circumstances, or if you would like some indication of the prospective benefits of a review, we can assess your existing arrangements and advise you of the best course of action.