Pensions - Articles - AE speeds up but 350,000 firms admit 'not thought about it'

 While this is an improvement on 2014 when four in ten (44%) SMEs surveyed** said they hadn’t thought about it, it still means that almost 350,000 businesses are unprepared.

 Clearly an underestimation of the task at hand is playing a role in this as over half (52%) of those businesses who are yet to stage, don’t think they’ll have any issue finding a pension provider, and only one in ten (9%) are concerned that providers might ‘cherry pick’ business.

 A lack of clarity also seems to be playing a role as a third (34%) of the 400 SMEs surveyed admitted they don’t understand how auto enrolment minimum contributions are calculated.

 Where thought has been given as to how they’ll go about finding a provider, a quarter (26%) intend to seek help from their accountant, 16% are relying on their existing scheme provider, and one in ten (12%) will search the market and do the research themselves.

 Morten Nilsson CEO of NOW: Pensions said: “Auto enrolment is fast becoming a reality for thousands of firms across the country and there really is nowhere left to hide. Although it’s tempting to put it off, auto enrolment is complex and the longer you leave yourself to plan, the easier it will be. Business owners need to wake up to the reality that if they don’t get this sorted, they could face fines of up to £500 a day***.

 “While most employers are confident that pension providers will be happy to accept their business, the reality is that not all providers will be willing to accept all employers and all employees on equal terms. If you are planning to rely on your existing provider, talk to them early to check they are willing to help.”