Our service proposal
Our wealth team can proactively manage your auto enrolment project and drive the engagement with you. Our service is an ongoing relationship that covers full set-up, implementation, communication, and ongoing compliance oversight.
This includes:
- Project planning
- Workforce assessment
- Aligning payroll with pension providers
- Data cleansing
- Implementation
- Data testing
- Postponement
- Risk mitigation
- Cost reduction
- Communication
- Compliance reviewing
- Training
- Administration reduction
- Salary Sacrifice
Stay on top of your auto enrolment programme
Although the current scheme will continue until 2018, all employers will be required, by legislation, to have a workplace pension plan in place for their employees by 2018.
Employers need to enroll their employees in the new pension scheme if they:
- Are aged between 22 and state pension age
- Earn more than £10,000 a year
- Work in the United Kingdom
Maximise your company's pension outcomes
To get the most out of your company’s auto enrolment process, you should consult with one of our independent financial consultants. Only a qualified financial advisor can give you the advice you need to choose the right pension from the right provider.
Why you need an independent financial adviser
Auto enrolment is mandatory for all employers and is being rolled out across the UK to ensure that employees are investing in pension programmes. Many employers have been hiring firms who specialise in the administrative processes of auto enrolment.
These firms often do not have the authority required by the Financial Conduct Authority to make recommendations on which pensions employees should enrol in. In this scenario, one-size-fits-all pension plans are selected and employees’ pension outcomes are often prejudiced.
Our auto enrolment service is different. We can assist you with your administrative needs, as well as help you pick the optimal auto enrolment company pension package for all employees.
A comprehensive and continuous auto enrolment solution
We offer fantastic administrative services and advice. Our team of independent financial advisers can also provide expert pension advice. Once we have your auto enrolment programme set up, we will monitor it so that it continues to run smoothly. If any new regulations are put into force, we will update your programme. If employees leave or are hired, we’ll ensure your workplace pension programme stays up to date.
Why auto enrolment exists
Auto enrolment has been created to encourage employers to help more people save for their retirement. Every employer must now be responsible for their employees' retirement savings, as well as their salaries, so employers need to pick a pension scheme that works best for their employees.
Cost implications
For the typical firm with one to four employees, auto enrolment costs will average £11,300 in man-hours. The CEBR (Centre for Economics and Business Research) has derived the auto enrolment cost estimates for the typical firm by multiplying the number of hours spent complying by the hourly productivity of the employee responsible for compliance.
Employers also need to understand that the scope of their auto enrolment requirements includes key departments in the business; they must plan accordingly for this. Finance and HR administrators are expected to handle the day-to-day mechanics of auto enrolment in many businesses, while senior staff are expected to make important strategic decisions, such as which pension scheme to use. This could prove a challenge for some businesses though: Administrative staff could become overburdened with the constant, rolling requirements of auto enrolment, while senior staff might not feel qualified to make strategic, pension-related decisions.
Smaller businesses, which may not have an HR or administration function, will have to decide who takes responsibility for preparing the company for auto enrolment. The obvious choice would be the business owner, although adding a task like this to an already busy workload may prove unsustainable. Many businesses may be forced to hire at least one new member of staff to handle the auto enrolment process, including its set-up and ongoing requirements.
Understand what you want out of auto enrolment
The effects of auto enrolment on your organisation can be significant. However, with forward planning and commitment, you can mitigate the risks involved. The first step in this process is to understand what you want to get out of auto enrolment. Do you only want to comply with legislation, or do you want to use this opportunity to provide your staff with a meaningful workplace pension scheme? Either way we can help.
Risks worth considering
The Pensions Regulator is responsible for ensuring that employers comply with their duties and will issue both warning notices and penalties for non-compliance. Your pension provider does mitigate some of the risk, although it's ultimately you, the employer, who is responsible for remaining compliant.
If an employer fails to comply, the Pensions Regulator reserves the right to impose a fine; this could equate up to £2,500 per day.