Micro-Firms ‘Uncertain’ About Auto-Enrolment
Smaller employers may require more support in operating workplace pension schemes through auto-enrolment, statistics from the Department for Work and Pensions show.
Both small employers (defined as those with 5 to 29 workers) and micro-employers (with 1 to 4 workers) backed the reforms, as 71% agreed auto-enrolment was a good thing.
However, there was some uncertainty among micro-employers regarding certain details, such as staging dates and minimum contributions.
A third (33%) did not know if they had passed their staging date to begin auto-enrolling eligible employees.
Meanwhile, only 59% of micro-employers were aware of their minimum contribution requirements, compared with 96% of large employers.
Helen Morrissey, personal finance specialist at Royal London, said that while awareness is high among small, medium and large firms, there is “still work to be done” for micro-employers.
She added:
“This could be because many of these micro-employers have little experience of offering pensions to their staff, and it is clear such employers will need support.”
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