Banking SMEs must act fast to untangle payroll data
By Tom BelgerA vast majority of the 1 .8 million s mall employers in the UK are in danger of missing the auto-enrolment staging deadlines for their pensions, according to the Lighthouse Group…
A vast majority of the 1.8 million small employers in the UK are in danger of missing the auto-enrolment staging deadlines for their pensions, according to the Lighthouse Group.
Firms are starting to grapple with the complexities of employer pension schemes for the first time, and recently the Pensions Regulator stated that only 29% of those staging in 2016 were aware of their date and only 46% of those staging in 2017 were aware of their responsibilities.
Roger Sanders OBE, Managing Director of Lighthouse Group Employee Benefit, said employers’ auto-enrolment duties went far beyond setting up a pension scheme and enrolling staff in it.
“They must assess their workforce, work out who to enrol and decide how much they and their employees will contribute,” said Roger.
“They also need to keep records of all this information, together with any changes, all of which represents a significant amount of work for smaller employers.”
Roger said many businesses in banking lacked the accurate, up-to-date information on employees which were vital to completing enrolment smoothly.
“Firms that leave their enrolment preparation too late will be in for a shock when they discover years of payroll and employee data need to be sorted before they can properly begin,” added Roger.
“Choosing a pension provider that offers locally-based support in person as well as from an administrative centre will also make all the difference.
“While there may be a small additional cost, being able to concentrate on running their business while knowing they are meeting the requirements, and are therefore unlikely to be fined, can make it worth every penny for SME owners.”
Keywords: SME, small businesses, pensions, lighthouse group, pensions regulator, Roger sanders,