Member Article

Concern over momentum from those yet to auto enrol

The latest monthly statistics from The Pensions Regulator are welcomed but financial planning group LEBC warns of a lack of momentum from those yet to engage.

“We are heartened by the general willingness of UK plc to join in with this savings revolution,” says Glynn Jones, divisional director, group savings and investments at LEBC.

“But these latest stats do not include figures from May to July stagers. We are hearing a simple question about this grouping; where are they? We have been approached by three non-stagers in the last week. Have we arrived at the ‘capacity crunch’ or the place where employers don’t have HR departments/financial directors/IFAs to push the process along or access to The Pensions Regulator’s assistance? Do they think that they can get away with it?

“With the Regulator playing such a positive role in the success of auto-enrolment, is it now becoming viewed as a voluntary legislation, or one without such tight time deadlines, that employers can choose to meet at an approximate date?

“The Pensions Regulator understands the challenges of a further 1.1m employers going through staging and acknowledges that the only way auto-enrolment can succeed practically is through payroll professionals, ie bookkeepers, accountants and payroll bureaus. We are inviting payroll professionals to develop their payroll offering to take advantage of this demand.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by LEBC Group Ltd .