Talking head: Nest's Tim Jones says more than seven in 10 smaller companies will want assistance with their auto-enrolment process, but there is a new group of AE professionals stepping into the breach.
So far, more than 4.5m workers have been automatically enrolled into a qualifying workplace pension scheme, which is a fantastic start. At Nest, we currently have more than 1.5m members saving with us and we are working with more than 9,300 employers.
What we are also seeing is a new breed of auto-enrolment expert emerging to provide that support
Opt-outs are also much lower than many had initially predicted; averaging at 10 per cent across the industry and around 8 per cent at Nest. All of this indicates workplace pension saving is truly becoming the norm, which is great news for savers.
It is important to remember that the achievements made so far have only been possible because of the hard work of many; not only pension providers, but financial advisers, payroll suppliers, payroll bureaux, accountants and other intermediaries; in addition to the thousands of employers that have staged.
What we are increasingly finding as the legislation works its way from large employers to small and micro businesses, is that the vast majority of smaller firms are looking for external support.
Nest research released this month suggests that around 74 per cent will want assistance. To date, small and micro employers have had little experience of workplace pensions: only one in four currently offers a scheme.
What we are also seeing is a new breed of auto-enrolment expert emerging to provide that support.
Many in the intermediary community are now building up their expertise and incorporating auto-enrolment services into their business proposition.
Increasingly advisers are offering a one-stop shop with pension scheme selection and set-up support, as well as payroll integration and management of ongoing scheme administration.
Auto-enrolment is affecting a significant proportion of the working population, and those that employ them, so it is only natural it creates opportunities and change across the support industries employers may turn to. And with 45,000 small and micro employers staging in 2015, such experts will be very well placed to help these businesses.
Nest has developed a range of tools and guides for employers and intermediaries so they can get set up and running with us. We aim to make Nest as easy and straightforward to use as possible and have developed our product based on insights into the market and feedback from customers.
Along with others in the industry Nest is proud to be playing its part in ensuring auto-enrolment is a success.
We are also proud to be working with so many different organisations and experts, from employers and payroll providers to advisers and accountants, who are also playing their part in helping millions more people save for a better retirement.
Tim Jones is CEO at Nest