The government wants to cap overall employer contributions to the civil service scheme at a maximum of 20%, just slightly more than the current average contribution rate of 19.4%.

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As the new scheme will be cheaper to finance, the employer's contribution rate should decline steadily to 18.1% of the civil service salary bill as its membership builds up.

BBC: NEWS | Business | Civil service pension reforms due

For example if your company supports a disaster recovery effort, the company may increase the maximum contribution, or match at a higher rate for the duration of the campaign.

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The contribution rate--the average percentage of salary employees contributed--also held steady at 7.3%.

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"My understanding is that the Russian government is ready to make a contribution with an extension of the loan and a reduction of the interest rate, " said the EU's top economic official, Olli Rehn.

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The average employer contribution rate rose this year to almost 21 percent of salary for most public workers and nearly 29 percent for police and firefighters.

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The ROH had warned that if it did not take steps to curtail the cost of its pension scheme, then its own contribution rate might have to rise from 15% of salaries to 26%, which it said it could not afford.

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For example, receiving a 50% matching contribution is the equivalent to earning a 50% rate of return instantly.

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Employers, who normally share with the worker welfare costs amounting to nearly 42% of gross wages, would pay a flat-rate contribution of 25% on jobs up to euro400, reduced to 12% for mini-jobs (cleaners and au pairs, for example) in private households.

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