1 in 5 pension advisors won't advise small businesses
Posted on in Business News
Research conducted by Defaqto on behalf of NOW: Pensions shows close to one in five advisers will not advise the smallest companies on their auto-enrolment obligations.
As 2015 approaches, 1.2 million small and micro businesses draw closer to their staging dates for auto-enrolment. With the average auto-enrolment process taking at least 6 months to implement into the business it is integral that small businesses start to prepare now.
The small- to mid-sized enterprises who are now approaching their staging dates are likely to have less resource to dedicate to AE, and it seems probable that they will find themselves equally unprepared.
Unfortunately, it is not the case that smaller firms will be more straightforward to stage, as the number of employees will not have any impact on many of the major processes and decisions that need to be made.
In order to get ready for auto-enrolment many companies will seek the help of a pensions advisor. NEST's annual research document Insight has also been recently published and shows that 90% of employers who are yet to stage expect to have to seek advice when choosing a scheme. However, new research suggests that smaller businesses will struggle to find an advisor willing to take them on.
Three out of 10 (28 per cent) of 244 advisers polled believe there is too much administration involved with advising small businesses and 25 per cent are deterred by how much time it will take.
One in 10 advisers polled do not believe they have the right knowledge to advise on it and two in three say that from their experience so far, employers are either not that engaged or not engaged at all with auto-enrolment, while the same can be said for 83 per cent of employees.
Not being able to find an advisor willing to take your business on will not be considered as a good enough excuse for failing to implement auto-enrolment on time.
Charles Counsell, The Pension Regulator's executive director for automatic enrolment said: "As we deal with smaller employers, we will see more who, despite our message to prepare early, leave it too late or do not comply at all.
"This type of non-compliance is not acceptable. We expect to see the number of times we need to use our powers increase."
If you fail to prepare in time, your business could face fines up to £10,000 per day for non-compliance, so don't delay in finding the right advisor for your business.
ActSmart can help
ActSmart can introduce you to Elliott Sanders of Copthorne Hundred Wealth Management, a Partner Practice of St. James's Place Wealth Management who can offer all businesses, no matter what size, advice on pension auto-enrolment.
St. James's Place Wealth Management are one of the leading wealth
management organisations in the UK with a national network of advisers.
Using their experience, they offer businesses and individuals a wealth
management service, incorporating pension advice. The advice is
face-to-face and tailored to your business or personal objectives.
- Complimentary initial consultation
- Face-to-face advice
- Impartial advice
- Advice is guaranteed by St. James's Place when recommending any products or services provided by the St. James's Place Group
Find out more here or phone Elliot Sanders's team on 01372 721616 / email Elliott.Sanders@sjpp.co.uk.