A new survey from a workplace pension provider has found that almost half of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) have yet to consider how they will find a pension scheme to comply with auto-enrolment and many are turning to accountants for support.
The fact that business owners have yet to address the issue is worrying, as around 40,000 SMEs are due to reach their auto-enrolment staging date in 2014.
According to the research, only 2 per cent have already made a decision and secured a pension scheme, while some 14 per cent intend to get help from their accountant in order to do so.
Meanwhile, 4 per cent of those polled said they would search the market and do the research themselves, while 22 per cent intend to use their existing pension provider. This is concerning, as some providers will not be able to support smaller employers’ enrolment needs.
Despite these results, a third of the firms surveyed think that their choice of provider is important and almost a quarter believe it is very important. Only 8 per cent said it is unimportant.
Interestingly, although many firms have not yet addressed the issue, four in 10 employers believe that offering a good quality pension scheme will help with employee retention, while nearly a third think it will help to improve the attractiveness of their organisation to potential employees.
A spokesman for the pension provider that conducted the survey said that accountants will play a key role in guiding SMEs through the complexities of the legislation as auto-enrolment gathers pace, so firms that have ignored it so far should take professional advice as soon as possible.