Most SMEs are unprepared for upcoming auto-enrollment pension obligations, with 60% not budgeting for additional costs. Proper planning takes 12-18 months, so employers can no longer delay. There is also concern about having enough advisers to help companies as their staging dates approach. However, through collaboration, accountants and financial advisers can help companies navigate auto-enrollment by providing a clear path, timeline, and budget for compliance. The AGL Corporate Pension Trust arrangement allows employers to offer an occupational pension plan tailored to their needs and employees, with specific investment options chosen by the employer and adviser rather than dictated by the provider.

1. ADVERTISING FEATURE 27
GIVEN THEauto-enrolmenttsunamihasbeenonthehorizon
foragoodnumberofyearsnow,wewouldliketothinkthat
mostemployersarealreadypreparedoratleasthaveaplanin
mind.However,researchbylawfirmIrwinMitchellfoundthat
60percentofSMEshavenotbudgetedfortheadditionalcosts.
Regulatorsandadviserssuggestthatplanningforthiseventfor
companiesisalifecycleofbetween12and18months.So,wecan
nolongerburyourheadsinthesand.
Thenthereistheissueofwhetherwewillhavesufficient
professionalsavailabletoadvisecompaniesastheyapproach
theirstagingdate.ThePensionsRegulatorisalreadyvisiting
providerstogaugecapacitytotakeonnewschemesahead
ofafeared“capacitycrunch”whensmallandmedium-sized
businessesreachtheirauto-enrolmentstagingdatesthisyear.
Companiesfacepotentialfinesthisyearofupto£5,000per
dayfornotbeingabletomeettheirauto-enrolmentobligations
intime,orofferingpensionsthatdonotcomplywithregulations.
Employersmaynotofferincentivestotheirworkerstooptoutof
anauto-enrolledpension,orrefusetoemploysomeonebecause
theywanttojointhecompanypensionscheme.
Itisvitalthatemployerspickapensionschemethatworks
bestfortheirstaff.Therearemanyproviders,cateringforall
kindsofcompanies,buttheadventofauto-enrolmenthas
alsobroughtmoreprovidersthatofferlow-costandsimplified
pensionsintothemix.
Butlow-costandsimpleisnotforeveryone.Itmightbethat
employerswanttheiremployeestohaveaccesstoawiderrange
of,forexample,investmentoptions.Afterall,anaddedvalue
companypensionisstillseenasagreatemployeebenefit.
It’snotalldoomandgloom.Throughcollaboration,
accountantsandindependentfinancialadvisersarebestplaced
toprovideaclearpathtowardsanemployer’sstagingdate,with
atimelinedsolutiononbudgeting,assessment,communication
andongoingreviews.
AtAGLCorporateServices,wehavedesignedournew
trust-basedpropositionaroundthespecificneedsofemployers
wishingtoofferanaddedvalueOccupationalPension
arrangementfortheiremployees.OurMasterTrustarrangement
allowsthebenefitsofatrust-basedschemewithouttheburden
oftrusteeship.Wearethenabletoprovideatotallyunbundled
arrangementwhichallowstheemployerandadviserstodecide,
bothinitiallyandongoing,theinvestmentchoicesbeingoffered
tothemembership.
Eacharrangementisfullypersonalisedtoeachemployer,
withscheme-specificdocumentation,andfullyflexible
chargingstructuresareavailabletosuitallrequirements.The
unbundledarrangementallowstotaltransparencyofcharges.
AlladministrationandsupportisUKbased,andweprovidea
dedicatedschemeownerwithintheadministrationteam.
Schemeproviderstypicallydictatetheinvestmentroutes
availablebywayofapanel.Theproviderwilldecidewhatfund
housesareavailableontheir“platform”andalso,inmostcases,
willlacktheofferingofamorebespokeservicefrom,forexample,
aDiscretionaryFundManager.
WiththeAGLCorporatePensionTrustarrangement,the
employer,indiscussionwiththeschemeadviser,canformulate
aninvestmentofferingspecifictotheparticularrequirements
andwishesoftheemployer.Nolongerwilltheschemebe
dictatedtobytheprovider,whichmaydecideatanytimetotake
aspecificfundofftheirplatform.
TheAGLCorporateServicesauto-enrolmentportalhasbeen
builtaroundaward-winningtechnology,designedtoreduce
employeradministrationcosts,resourcesandresponsibilities,
withfullonlineaccessforemployersandemployees.The
portalwillcompliantlycollect,assessandreportallthedata
requirementsofacompany’schosenpensionscheme.
Ourindependentadministrator,CareyPensionsUK,ispartof
CareyGroup,whichadministerscloseto£1bnworthofpension
schemeassets.CareyPensionsUKhasinvestedindedicated
peopleandhasarobustinfrastructureforthosecompaniesthat
wanttooutsourcepartsoftheiradministrationservice.
So,don’tgetswallowedupbytheauto-enrolmenttsunami–
ridethecrestofitswavebytrustingyourcompany’sandyour
client’spensionschemewiththeAGLCorporatePensionTrust
andauto-enrolmentportal.
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
Glasgow
Office:
0141 314 3765
Edinburgh Office:
0131 240 3830
Email: info@
aglcorpserv.com
www.aglcorp
serv.com
HOW TO AVOID THE
AUTO-ENROLMENT TSUNAMI
THERE IS ONE THING THAT WE CAN BE SURE ABOUT,
AUTO-ENROLMENT FOR SMEs IS COMING… AND IT’S COMING FAST!
is managing director
of AGL Corporate
Services
Craig Gibson
JUNE 2014 CA MAGAZINE
Corporate Services
“We genuinely believe that
our unbundled approach
offers the greatest freedom
when choosing investment
options for the members of
the scheme”