Tuesday 11th November, 2014

The Lighthouse Group, national financial advisers, warns accountants that they need to ensure they are equipped to deal with requests from SMEs and provide vital guidance, as most UK SMEs now urgently need to prepare for next year’s pensions auto enrolment deadlines.

With 28,000 businesses automatically enrolled in workplace pensions since the scheme began two years ago, the financial services sector is bracing itself for a tsunami of requests as businesses with 49-30 employees prepare for their automatic enrolment staging from August to October 2015. Businesses with fewer than 30 employees will begin staging as early as June 2015 if pre-selected by the regulator for early staging, or otherwise from November 2015 to 2017.

The Pensions Regulator estimates that as many as 20 per cent of small employers and almost half of micro-employers are unaware of their staging dates. Many assume their staging date is based solely on their current number of employees rather than those recorded in April 2012 via their PAYE number.

Malcolm Streatfield, CEO of Lighthouse Group, comments: "We advise accountants with SME clients to proactively get in touch with them. Not only will it save a lot of potential trouble further down the line, it will also add value to their relationship."

The Regulator also found that 89 per cent of small businesses and 64 per cent of micro-employers had sought or were planning to seek consultation with external advisers.

Staging dates can be determined by entering PAYE references into a tool provided by The Pensions Regulator here.