The business development manager for Scottish Life was speaking at a seminar for members of the Personal Finance Society at its annual conference in Birmingham. He said capacity issues could affect smaller auto-enrolment schemes in particular if providers leave the market.
He intimated that Scottish Life could also close its doors to new auto-enrolment customers after 2015.
Mr Clark said: “I think we could leave the market post 2015 if we are at capacity.”
He added that a gap in advice continued to exist for small employers ahead of the 2014 auto-enrolment staging dates, a situation that could worsen as the dates approach as there was a relative lack of choice of providers and advisers.
Mr Clark said: “The demand is by far exceeding supply and small employers are likely to have even less choice if they leave it too late to arrange auto-enrolment schemes.
“With just 4000 or 5000 advisers operating in the corporate market there will be a capacity crunch and these firms will need advice.”
He said payroll readiness was among the greatest challenges for small firms, adding: “Can they cope with the calculations required and formulating the cost? This process can take up to six months.”
Mr Clark said advisers could add value with expertise on The Pension Regulator’s rules and HM Revenue & Customs’s definitions of employment contracts.
He also suggested that advisers could add value with scheme design and postponement of scheme implementation for firms, something many employers were not aware was possible.
Mr Clark added: “Timing is very important as significant work may have to be done upfront and it is unlikely that costs will be fixed. Employers need help.”
PFS comment
Keith Richards, chief executive of the PFS, said it was working on a “big education piece” regarding auto-enrolment and the opportunities it could bring to advisers.
He said: “Clearly there is a lot of misunderstanding among the adviser community, with many not seeing the point in offering auto-enrolment advice.
“We will try and dispel myths regarding the difficulties in giving advice and the rewards it can bring.”