All small and micro businesses are to receive letters from The Pensions Regulator in the coming months as part of a new campaign to give them key information on auto-enrolment.
The regulator will write to more than 1.5m addresses across the UK from the end of January, aiming to ensure that by the summer all employers know their staging date, as its own research has shown that “significant numbers” of small and micro employers are unaware.
The new all-employer mail out is in addition to existing communications on the subject and also asks employers to provide email contact details so the regulator can provide them with regular reminders and updates.
Charles Counsell, executive director of auto-enrolment, said that from the end of the month letters will be sent out on a gradual basis over a number of months, “so employers should not worry if they don’t receive theirs straight away”.
Research carried out by the regulator indicates that workplace pensions are becoming the norm, with the majority of small and micro employers indicating that they believe it to be a ‘good idea’.
Mr Counsell added: “Our message for advisers is clear: be prepared for clients to approach you about automatic enrolment. Let your clients know to look out for a letter from The Pensions Regulator in the coming months.”
At the end of October, the regulator handed out fixed penalties of £400 to three employers for failing to meet their auto-enrolment duties, in the first wave of fines handed out to firms for non-compliance.
TPR also issued 163 compliance notices giving employers a deadline within which to take certain actions, as it clamped down following months of warnings of the dangers awaiting unprepared companies.
peter.walker@ft.com
