Auto Enrolment – More than a mandatory requirement

Author - Liam Wright

When business owners hear auto-enrolment, they often just think of it as a mandatory offering. Something they have to do as the employer, or think “that’s something my accountant can set up”. As a business owner you are busy and have day to day operations to handle.

Anything mandatory seems a burden, another added workload to an already growing list of things to do. So what is the easiest option? Just pick off the shelf, the quickest option and get it set up. You’re now compliant, but are you offering the best for your workforce?

After working closely with a lot of businesses and taking the time to discuss the workplace pension options available, you can start to understand that this is not a burden to be set up, but a means to increase employee satisfaction and financial security.

More and more employees now view the pension scheme as a benefit, not just something to contribute to, but a place where your money is being better managed, has more potential to grow effectively and the charges are reasonable so less is deducted. Often business owners can neglect the fact that they are also a part of that scheme, so this offering is important for you too.

You have to offer a workplace pension scheme, and it will be a reflection on your business, so why not offer the best options available.

So what can be done? First off a review. This isn’t me saying that everyone offers a below par scheme, there are many out there that have exceptional schemes. Companies that go above the minimum requirement, ensuring their employees are being well looked after in this sense. But you can always do a review, giving you the chance to check in on what you have and if it’s fully fit for purpose, carry on. However, if there is an option for something better, why not explore that?

If we do go down the route of finding a more suitable scheme for your workplace together, then I will handle the set up and manage the process from start to finish. As an experienced adviser that has supported companies with their auto enrolment set up previously, I will walk you through the application process, making sure that not only are you getting the best service possible, but also keeping you compliant. As you cannot miss a pension payment, we will time it right so that you can make a final payment to the old scheme and have a new direct debit in place for the following month to start the new scheme. I will guide you through how to update the pensions regulator for declaration of compliance, when this is needed and why it’s important.

To finish off the auto enrolment set up journey, I will then run a webinar for your employees to talk them through what I have done, why we have reviewed the old scheme, what the outcome was, who we have moved the new scheme to, the options that they have, the benefits for you as an individual and as an employee of the company, and then take the time to answer any questions. Beyond this, I will then offer the staff the opportunity to book in for a 1-2-1 confidential meeting to discuss any further financial aspects and planning options that they may have. This 1-2-1 meeting invitation and financial adviser resource can be offered as an additional employee perk for new and existing staff.

You have to offer an auto-enrolment scheme to your staff, so why not take the time to ensure you are offering the best resources and support out there. I will work for you, represent you, if you can benefit your team with a more suitable workplace pension, that will only help to keep good people around longer.

Other benefits to your business include:

• Some schemes have unnecessary yearly admin fees, costing your business money for no reason
• Employees will view the pension as a benefit/workplace perk, not just a pension
• Giving staff the opportunity to speak to a Financial Adviser for a no obligation wealth review

To follow up on the above, here is a real life example of a client that I have worked with on this area:

I met a business owner at an expo event earlier in the year. I began talking about what we do at Twelve Wealth Management after he asked the question “can you look into my workplace pension scheme? We have a new employee that isn’t happy with our pension provider option”.

I gathered some details on the business and went to start the review process. The findings were not great, a lot of negative reviews and comments online, struggles with working with the provider and the service levels not being what they should be. I also found that the business was paying a monthly fee for the privilege of using this provider.

I went to market and started to see what options were available, we ended up with a provider that would not charge a yearly fee, had a lower Annual Management Charge for the employees and had a great, easy to use platform. We aligned everything, got the new scheme set up, ended the old scheme, and then I presented a webinar.

Off the back of this I have held additional meetings with the staff who are not only grateful for the opportunity of further discussing financial advice, but are also grateful that the business owner took action and put their best interests first. It was a positive outcome for all and something that had it been left in time could have led to a negative view of the business as an employer.

My advice is, if you run a business and employ people, take the time to review your auto-enrolment scheme, make sure you are not paying unnecessary fees, ensure the offering is good for everyone, yourself included. You have to offer one, so why not offer the best you can.

If you want to have a review of your current workplace auto enrolment scheme, please feel free to reach out to me and we can book the time in to discuss: liam.wright@sjpp.co.uk or 07450 436 491