Dear Sir or Madam,

According to the brochure available on the website at:

http://liverpool.ac.uk/hr/Pensions_Plus/...

Liverpool University is introducing the Pensions Plus scheme "to
make employer's NIC savings which will help to reduce costs".

The brochure, however, only reports on the employee's NIC savings,
which is only one half the story.

Please may I be sent copies of documents containing:

* The full projected cost savings to Liverpool University from
reduced NIC obligations and other benefits.

* The professional advice detailing the legality and long-term
viability of what appears to be a newly discovered tax loop-hole.

* The full plan and cost-benefit analysis of the programme to
implement this Pensions Plus scheme (including financial consulting
fees, production of the above brochure, etc).

Yours faithfully,

Julian Todd

                                                                                                                                   

Mrs Lesley Jackson

Freedom of Information

Co-ordinator

The Foundation Building
765 Brownlow Hill
Liverpool
L69 7ZX

F  0151 794 3272
E  [University of Liverpool request email]

[1]www.liv.ac.uk

                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    

FOI/LJ

7^th July 2009

Mr. Julian Todd

Via email

[2][email address]

Dear Mr. Todd,

Thank you for your email of 11^th June 2009 requesting information about
the University of Liverpool’s Pension Plus/Salary Sacrifice Scheme.  I
am pleased to enclose the requested information we have at our disposal. 

With regard to the full projected cost savings to the University from
reduced NIC obligations and other benefits, assuming 75% take-up of the
scheme, annual savings are anticipated to be in the region of £575,000. 
However, this is difficult to predict as the amount will very much depend
on initial take-up and ongoing recruitment.

Please refer to HMRC web pages at
[3]http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/specialist/salary... in connection
with your query on the professional advice and legality of the scheme.

Finally, the overall budget for the scheme including cost-benefit analysis
of the programme to fees and production of the brochure was approximately
£75,000.

If you are not satisfied with the University’s response to your request,
you may ask the University to review it.  If you wish to do this, please
write to Mr. Kevan Ryan, Director of Legal Services, The University of
Liverpool, The Foundation Building, 765 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L69 7ZX,
enclosing a copy of your original request and explaining your complaint. 
Please include an address for correspondence.

Thank you for your interest in the University of Liverpool.

Yours sincerely,

Lesley Jackson

Mrs. Lesley Jackson

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator

show quoted sections

Dear Lesley Jackson,

Thank you for the reply on 7 July to my FOI request for copies of
documents relating to the Pension Plus scheme in which the annual
anticipated savings and budget for the cost-benefit analysis were
disclosed to me. I was also referred to the HMRC web-pages in
answer to my query about the legality of the scheme.

Unfortunately, I can find no mention about the application of a
salary sacrifice scheme to pension contributions on the HMRC web
page. However, the overview document by HMRC does state that
"Employers and employees who are thinking of entering into such
arrangements would be well advised to obtain legal advice on
whether their proposed arrangements achieve their desired result."

Please consider this letter as a clarification of my original
request. I am requesting copies of the documents, not merely some
information contained within documents.

I would like the documents containing:

* A copy of the first official letter where this scheme was raised,
either by an outside agency, or an officer of the university.

* Copies of documents wherein "the full projected cost savings to
the University from reduced NIC obligations and other benefits,
assuming 75% take-up of the scheme, annual savings are anticipated
to be in the region of £575,000" are stated and justified.

* A copy of the written cost-benefit analysis of the programme,
which combined with the "fees and production of the brochure was
approximately £75,000".

* A copy of the invoice from the body to whom the above "fees" were
paid

* A copy of the legal advice regarding the proposed arrangements,
as advised by HMRC.

FOI requires that the University confirms whether or not documents
as described exist, and then discloses their contents, subject to
the statutory exemptions.

Yours sincerely,

Julian Todd

                                 

Mrs Lesley Jackson

Freedom of Information

Co-ordinator

The Foundation Building
765 Brownlow Hill
Liverpool
L69 7ZX

F  0151 794 3272
E  [University of Liverpool request email]

[1]www.liv.ac.uk

                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    

                                                                                                                    

FOI/LJ

11^th August 2009

Mr. Julian Todd

Via email

[2][email address]

Dear Mr. Todd,

Thank you for your email of 21^st July 2009 requesting copies of
documentation relating to the Pension Plus/Salary Sacrifice Scheme.  

For your information, these types of schemes exist in a wide variety of
public and private sector organisations and as long as they are approved
by the HMRC there is no legal bar to such schemes.

With regard to your specific request for documentation, we do not have an
official letter where this type of scheme was first raised.  Rather, our
awareness of these schemes occurred around 6 or 7 years ago when the
concept was relatively new.  At that time the University did not want to
implement the scheme, but now feel that the time is right to offer
additional benefit options to employees . 

As requested please see the attached report produced for the benefit of
the University’s Senior Management Team setting out the projected cost
savings.  This report also satisfies your request for a copy of the
written cost–benefit analysis above the scheme.

With regard to your request for a copy of the invoice relating to the fees
paid in connection with the scheme, you will appreciate that these costs
relate to consultancy fees charged by PricewaterhouseCoopers to support
the University in implementing the scheme.  These rates were provided in
confidence and are commercially sensitive and revealing these details
could damage the relationship between the University and
PricewaterhouseCoopers.  Accordingly, these fees are exempt from
disclosure under Sections 41 and 43   of the Freedom of Information Act.

Finally, with regard to your request for a copy of the legal advice on the
arrangements, no such specific legal advice exists.  The scheme is based
largely on the schemes that have already been approved by HMRC and it was
not considered essential to add to the costs by securing specific legal
advice on this matter.

If you are not satisfied with the University’s response to your request,
you may ask the University to review it.  If you wish to do this, please
write to Mr. Kevan Ryan, Director of Legal Services, The University of
Liverpool, The Foundation Building, 765 Brownlow Hill, Liverpool, L69 7ZX,
enclosing a copy of your original request and explaining your complaint. 
Please include an address for correspondence.

Thank you for your interest in the University of Liverpool.

Yours sincerely,

Lesley Jackson

Mrs. Lesley Jackson

Freedom of Information Co-ordinator

show quoted sections