No short cuts to pension automatic enrolment
?2014 will be a very challenging year for the pensions industry,? says Nicola Prince of corporate pension advisors Beckett Financial Services. ?Approximately 38,000 employers will reach their staging date and will be required to comply with the new legislation during the course of the year. Research suggests many may not appreciate the difficulty of the task.?
103 Man Days Needed
The Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) says that 103 man days will be required for businesses to prepare for the legislation.
?Auto enrolment is complex,? says Prince, Director of Employee Benefits at the Suffolk-based company. ?The process impacts on the most critical function that all employers share: paying their staff.?
?Employers looking for help with the process need to identify an adviser well in advance of their staging date,? says Prince. ?The sooner an employer appoints an advisor, the easier the task of implementation will be.? The ?staging date? is the date the new employer duties are ?switched on? for the employer.
Choose The Right Advisor For The Task
One of the key competencies for advisors is the Certificate in Pensions Automatic Enrolment which was launched in October 2012 by the Pensions Management Institute.
Prince says ?The exam is designed for individuals who are advising on and implementing the complex requirements of auto enrolment in the workplace.? 100% Exam Success ?Every member of our Employee Benefits advisory team has passed this exam,? says Prince. The overall pass rate for the candidates that took the examination in October 2013 was 53% demonstrating the complexity of the topic. Less than 900 individuals have passed the examination and a large proportion of those do not give advice to employers.
?We are committed to ensuring our staff are as well trained as possible and our 100% examination success and practical experience of the auto enrolment process means we are one of the best placed firms in East Anglia to help employers tackle the challenges ahead.?
Beckett Financial Services is already advising a broad range of employers throughout East Anglia.
For more information, contact Nicola Prince on 01284 754500 or email [email protected]
Beckett Financial Services is a CII (Chartered Insurance Institute) accredited Chartered Financial Planner. CII Chartered status is the gold standard for insurance and financial planning.
