Previously the company, which builds retirement homes and flats in the UK, ran a group personal pension. It launched the new scheme after appointing Hargreaves Lansdown as pension administrator, although staff will have the option to stay in the old pension if they wish. Following a series of presentations and one to one meetings run by Hargreaves Lansdown, three quarters of the current members have already joined the new SIPP and 13 have elected to open an ISA account as well. Pension take-up has increased by 20% and many more have increased their personal contributions.
Paula Jordan, HR director McCarthy & Stone said: "This it is an innovative, simple and transparent scheme which we hope will help our employees to manage their savings and plan for their retirement, even if that event is still a long way off for them.
"The presentations and one to ones really helped our employees to understand the value and importance of a good pension and to understand that it's never too soon to plan for your retirement."
Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown, added: "We are likely to see very strong demand for workplace wrap accounts this year thanks to simplified pension contribution limits from 6 April and the looming pressure of auto-enrolment.
"The defined contribution pension market will polarise towards either NEST for low cost simple solutions, or wrap accounts for companies that want a more sophisticated savings scheme for their employees."
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