Business facing billions in bills from pension sign-up scheme
FIRMS in the UK are facing several thousand pounds of set-up fees each to get up to speed with the government’s pension auto-enrolment scheme, and billions of pounds in total.
According to research released today by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), auto-enrolment is set to cost businesses £15.4bn in set-up costs, with even small firms forking out £8,900 to prepare. The costs rise upward for the largest London firms, which will spend nearly three times as much.
The CEBR suggests that the setup could take 103 working days, and require three days a month to keep up with after that.
David White of Creative Auto Enrolment commented: “Hefty fines will penalise those who don’t meet their responsibilities in time. With the clock ticking, businesses need to start thinking now about what their duties are.”
The system of enrolment for pensions started last year, but the starting point for businesses is rolled out at different times, depending on the employees that the firm has.