Around 74 per cent of 45,000 small and micro businesses who are set for their auto-enrolment 2015 staging dates want support from the advisory community as they have had little experience of workplace pensions, new research from Nest has revealed.
Nest noted that there have been over 300 sign ups to Intrinsic’s ‘AE Box’ software, while over 5,000 have signed up to Nest’s adviser news and more than 3,000 have attended a Nest webinar on how to administer schemes as a third party.
Last week Malcolm Streatfield, chief executive of Lighthouse Group, warned that many small businesses are leaving it too late to prepare adequately for auto-enrolment, running the risk of making costly mistakes and being fined.
He said the majority of firms were ignoring the Pensions Regulator’s advice to start preparing for auto-enrolment at least 18 months before the staging date and had underestimated the complexities involved.
Tim Jones, Nest’s chief executive, said that there was evidence that advisers are ‘skilling up’ to be a one-stop shop for all their clients’ needs, from scheme selection and set-up to payroll integration and ongoing maintenance.
“Small and micro employers to date have had little experience of workplace pensions, so it’s natural that they’ll want help. Only one in four currently offers a scheme. With 45,000 staging in 2015 automatic enrolment experts are very well placed to help businesses meet their duties.”
Richard Bartlett, head of auto-enrolment and at-retirement with Intrinsic Financial Services, commented that since they launched their auto-enrolment solution over 500 Intrinsic network members have attended training sessions.
“Intrinsic has seen a marked increase in the number of automatic enrolment cases and as the largest adviser network in the UK, expects to see high volumes of business in 2015 and beyond.
“In a post-RDR world, advisers see the auto-enrolment market as an excellent way of increasing the adviser customer base. This allows advisers to not only help clients implement a qualifying workplace pension scheme but also deliver solutions for other needs such as pension transfers, mortgage and protection advice.”
Neil Mutton, a partner at Ablestoke Wealth Management, added that the auto-enrolment market is a huge opportunity for advisers willing to roll their sleeves up and learn.
“The opportunity is of course not only to gain long-term corporate clients but also to provide a range of services to them.”
