As our industry is busy preparing for the 1.6m small employers set to auto-enrol over the next two years, we are focused on the scale of the task before us. After all, we are halfway through the biggest shake-up to the pensions sector in our lifetimes.
A daunting prospect? Well maybe, or maybe not. While we are preparing for an unprecedented number of employers, not all employers are preparing for auto-enrolment.
Nest’s experience with smaller employers suggests that with the right technology supporting them, they may cope better than many are predicting
Recent Nest research showed an overwhelming majority (84 per cent) of small and micro employers yet to stage do not currently have an active scheme in place, and around half (48 per cent) are not certain of when they need to meet the new pension legislation, known as their staging date.
Surmountable challenges
So, a daunting prospect for our industry? Not necessarily.
If employers do not know their staging date it is easy to solve. They can find out in just a few clicks from the Pensions Regulator’s website.
They can even log in from their mobile. They just need to know their PAYE reference number.
If they do not have a pension provider, there are a number to choose from. These challenges are not insurmountable.
Technology will help with 'heavy lifting'
One of the biggest positives for small employers is how technology has come on in leaps and bounds. In fact, Nest’s experience with smaller employers suggests that with the right technology supporting them they may cope better than many are predicting.
Whether employers want to use the technology to manage auto-enrolment themselves or business advisers want to use it to deliver auto-enrolment at volumes, it will help with the ‘heavy lifting’ in the coming years.
Nest web services, a suite of nine services that lets employers administer their schemes through their payroll, are now live and being trialled with clients from major payroll software providers including Iris, Moneysoft, Qtac and Sage.
Other payroll software providers are developing integration with Nest in the same way. Despite not being widely available, Nest is already working with more than 1,300 employers that are using our online services.
So yes, the challenge could be seen as daunting, but through technology our industry and the employers we serve can rise to meet it.
Gavin Perera-Betts is executive director of product and marketing at Nest
