The consultancy says the new hires, which include Steve Budge and Tejas Patel from KPMG, have been made in response to increasing client demand following what it describes as a surge in enquiries, particularly in the realm of member communications.
The recruitment drive brings the team’s current headcount to almost 90, based in multiple locations across the UK. The consultancy says it is planning further hires in the coming months.
Budge moves from his role of head of DC investment: tax & pensions at KPMG to become a principal in Mercer’s London team. He is joined by DC consultant Patel who rejoins Mercer’s Birmingham office to lead on DC investments in the Midlands.
Further hires include Peter Carey as a DC product developer, DC aales consultant Mark Bloodworth moving over from Aon Hewitt and Leila Samara joining from Barclays.
Brian Henderson, UK head of Mercer’s DC & savings team says: “The expansion has been driven, in part by client demand following the Freedom and Choice in Pensions Reforms that took full effect on 6 April 2015. The reforms mean that members now have three options on how to take their benefits at retirement. Mercer is at the forefront of educating clients, helping them inform and educate their members, as well as putting solutions in place to enable the implementation of choice.
“We’ve also seen a sharp increase in interest in our innovative products such as the Mercer Master Trust. Corporates often struggle to engage employees in pension and benefits, and are seeing the value that integrated investment and communication design can deliver.“
