Around 70 per cent of small employers expect to rely on an adviser for practical assistance with auto-enrolment, as The Pensions Regulator says advisers are “far better placed” to help employers meet their pension duties.
The regulator’s research, published today (5 August), warned that hundreds of thousands of small and micro employers still do not know the exact date when they need to start to comply with the pension laws.
It estimates that, over the next two years, around 1.8m small and micro employers will need to act as a result of automatic enrolment duties.
Around 79 per cent of employers are staging this year, however only 29 per cent of employers staging between January to November 2016 knew their date, while 30 per cent of January to April 2017 stagers knew this information.
The employer survey also found nine in 10 employers staging later this year had started preparing for auto-enrolment.
TPR found from its intermediary survey that there was almost universal awareness of auto-enrolment among all types of advisers.
There are increasing proportions of intermediaries planning to act on behalf of their clients, as opposed to taking the more passive roles of providing information or technical advice - payroll administrators with 71 per cent, advisers on 53 per cent, accountants at 44 per cent and book-keepers with 42 per cent.
The survey also found that 63 per cent of advisers could fully answer clients’ questions on auto-enrolment, which was the most out of any group surveyed - compared to 54 per cent of payroll administrators, 34 per cent of accountants and 20 per cent of book-keepers.
Charles Counsell, executive director of automatic-enrolment at regulator, described it as “positive” that more advisers have stepped up to meet the needs of employers by developing new services, and by directing clients to the regulator’s website.
“I urge all intermediaries to ensure they can fulfil this vital role as more employers seek assistance,” he added.
donia.o’loughlin@ft.com
