Talking head: The Pensions Regulator's Charles Counsell urges smaller employers not to leave their auto-enrolment obligations to the last minute, saying now is "no time for complacency".
There is a separate pension scheme for professional footballers, so it was gratifying that it was the back-room staff who will benefit – giving myself and the minister the chance to talk about how auto-enrolment had really kick-started retirement saving.
We needed to use our statutory powers to prompt an employer into compliance just six times
We have now seen more than 10,000 companies – employing 15m workers – go through auto-enrolment and complete registration. They come from all sectors – public and private, charities and banks, football clubs and caterers.
But this is no time for complacency. Our latest research into employer awareness and understanding of auto-enrolment finds that while 82 per cent of small employers are aware of the changes, 47 per cent still do not know when they will need to act.
Too many employers still think they can leave things until the last minute. We’re issuing a call to action both directly to employers in the letters we send them and indirectly via advisers, trade associations and the media.
Another number that’s caught attention recently: 590. By the end of January this year, the regulator had launched 590 investigations into possible non-compliance. The majority of difficulties related to employer readiness, failure to register and providing information to workers.
But it’s important to put the number of investigations into context – we needed to use our statutory powers to prompt an employer into compliance just six times.
It is as a result of this hard work and that of employers themselves, along with pension and payroll providers, that 99.9 per cent of employers who have completed registration with the regulator have done so without the need for us to use our powers.
Employers have understood that providing workplace pension provision and helping their workers plan for retirement is now the norm.
In line with our compliance and enforcement strategy, we are focused on creating a pro-compliance culture, making sure employers have the information they need and working with them to rectify anything that has gone wrong – something we have done successfully on a number of occasions.
But, and I hope you can forgive another sporting analogy, you will hear top golfers saying you can’t win a major on day one, but you can lose it. That is where we are.
We are nearly at the end of the first day’s play and all large employers have now staged. Helping medium employers to enrol their staff is our day two – and small and micro employers are the crucial, two final rounds.
Charles Counsell is executive director for auto-enrolment at the Pensions Regulator
