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Sparse IT help for SMEs ahead of auto-enrolment
Lack of decent ‘middleware’ IT providers for small to medium-sized enterprises will be a major concern for auto-enrolment implementation, an administration consultant has warned.
Chris Stanley, managing director of Go Pensions, was speaking at a seminar organised by Financial Adviser’s sister paper Pensions Week. He said there was a clear role for human resources and payroll, but no supporting systems for SMEs to pull it together.
He said: “Human resources are good at managing people and payroll at managing pay processes, but both of those areas tend to shy from pensions.
“Pensions tend to be seen by those workplaces as technically complex and that is a fair point. There are many concerns that there are not enough middleware solutions.”
Mr Stanley said pensions specialists needed to manage auto-enrolment change to make sure that workplace departments do not get it wrong.
Steve Bee, pensions expert and founder of JargonFreeBenefits middleware, said auto-enrolment was nothing to do with pensions but rather “a human resources nightmare for SMEs”.
He added: “Large companies have big sophisticated software to comply. Small companies do not. They need a middleware answer that makes sure nothing falls through the gaps.”
JargonFreeBenefits, launched last year, developed Staffcare software with flexible benefits for SMEs.
Mr Bee said: “We have 160 IFAs distributing already. We expect this number to rise to 200 by the spring. IFA demand for this is out there. They are coming to us and we are not looking for them so I am surprised we do not have more competition.”
