Employers have been urged to step up their preparations for automatic enrolment as evidence emerges that businesses are underestimating the time it will take to get ready.
Rising levels of awareness and understanding of the reforms are reported in research published in July, as the UK's largest employers approach their automatic enrolment staging date.
98% of large businesses – with staging dates between October 2012 and February 2014 – remain confident that they will be ready on time, and 82% have taken steps to prepare.
But 28% of large private sector employers believe automatic enrolment preparations will take less than three months.
Executive director for employer compliance at the Pensions Regulator, Charles Counsell, said: "Based on what we've seen so far, we estimate that it will take the average large business about 18 months to plan and get ready, including making the necessary adjustments to processes and systems like payroll, HR and pensions. Leaving it as late as possible runs the risk of making preparations more costly and complex."
Smith & Williamson's financial services team are working with our clients to ensure that they are ready to meet the challenges of auto-enrolment.
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