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Up to 2,200 employers a day set to auto enrol in 2016, as revolutionary new service takes off
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Up to 2,200 employers a day set to auto enrol in 2016
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Uptake of new payroll integration service doubled month-on-month
Auto enrolment enters a new pace in 2016, with over half a million employers meeting their auto enrolment duties in the next 12 months. At its peak, an average of 2,244 employers will be required to set up an auto enrolment scheme per day.
Recent NEST research revealed that despite high levels of awareness, less than half (41 per cent) of small employers are certain of their staging date. Research also revealed that confidence in delivering payroll far exceeds confidence in delivering pensions among small employers. Around two thirds (64 per cent) of small employers are experienced in dealing with payroll issues while less than a quarter (23 per cent) are experienced in dealing with pension issues.
New functionality from NEST aims to make employers’ more comfortable with automatic enrolment by using payroll integration to deliver pensions. It is already revolutionising the way pensions are processed, NEST said today.
Although not yet widely available, with over 1,300 employers already using the software and the number of users doubling from February to March, the new functionality is already proving a hit with small businesses and their advisers.
Donna Eccott-Hares, finance administrator at J and K Care specialists, a care agency that provides care to vulnerable adults and children, has been using the new service since November 2015, following their auto enrolment date in April 2015.
Donna commented on web services saying:
‘You hear about new pensions rules, you research it, you understand what it means for your workers and then you get to grips with how you are going to deliver it every single week. This is all important, helping workers save for their retirement but I was worried about the extra work. The new functionality has helped me personally, it saves me time. I literally click one button in my payroll system and it’s done. I didn’t think that all of the pension rules could be condensed down to just one button and one click.’
Gavin Perera-Betts, NEST’s executive director of product and market, commented:
‘We know that employers may have low levels of experience and confidence in delivering pensions but are much more comfortable and practised in delivering payroll. Knowing this, why would we ask employers to learn to speak pensions when we could talk to them in a language they’re already familiar with: payroll? We decided rather than expect employers to come to us; we’d build something that went to them.
‘Web services use payroll integration to deliver pensions, taking auto enrolment into employers’ comfort zones. Business intermediaries, such as payroll bureaux, accountants and IFAs, are likely to be called upon by large numbers of employers; managing those volumes will also need to be straightforward.
‘It’s great to see so many employers and their advisers using web services already. We’re looking forward to working with more payroll providers and seeing the software rolled out to more users as we head into the highest volumes yet for auto enrolment.’
The new service, now live and operational with major payroll software providers including Iris, Moneysoft, Qtac and Sage, is already being used by UK small and micro employers to deliver auto enrolment. Demand for the functionality is growing rapidly, with the number of users doubling from February to March 2016.
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