pensions 15


How will auto-enrolment impact your business?


Auto-enrolment represents one of the biggest changes to pensions for many years. Once fully implemented it will mean that many employers and employees will be brought into pensions for the first time. Undoubtedly this is going to impact on the pensions market, but what will these changes mean for you and your business?


The auto-enrolment process is being introduced via a system of “staging dates” which means that the legislation will be phased in between October 2012 and April 2017 starting with the largest employers first. In this respect, size is determined by the number of PAYE employees an employer had as at April 2012. At present only those employers with more than 4,100 employees will have been expected to comply with the legislation. Whilst the process seems to have gone fairly smoothly for those employers who have already reached their staging date, as there are a limited number of employers in this category this cannot be taken as a sign of things to come and as the size of the employer decreases, so the number of employers expected to comply will increase.


The Pensions Regulator’s figures indicate that by November 2013 around 2,000 employers will reach their staging date each month. By May 2014 this will increase to 12,000 employers each month. By October 2014 it is expected that in excess of 50,000 employers will reach their staging date each month and by October 2015 this will increase to almost 200,000 employers staging each month.


So what impact is this likely to have on the pensions market? In order for employers to meet the requirements under the legislation, they will need to have a qualifying pension scheme in place. This can be with either a traditional pension provider, NEST (the Government established multi- employer pension scheme) or a NEST


competitor such as Now Pensions or The People’s Pension. Industry experts predict that the traditional pension market can cope with installing around 2,000 schemes per month. By May 2014 this clearly won’t be enough and the next question is will NEST and NEST’s competitors be able to pick up the excess?


Whether or not they currently have a pension scheme in place, employers can expect the following impact:


• Providers may pick and choose which pension schemes they want to take on, selecting only those that are likely to be most profitable for them.


• Prices may increase as a result of the strain on the market.


• Many providers are already business focus High Wycombe office of Whitley


Stimpson expands An uptake in the M&A market, combined with several appointments to advise academy schools, is paying dividends for chartered accountants and business advisers, Whitley Stimpson


So much so, that this summer will see the High Wycombe practice expand into larger premises as it takes advantage of improving economic conditions.


“We’re in the middle of two significant deals at the moment, both of which are business disposals with long-standing clients where we are acting as advisers to the sellers, helping them achieve a tax efficient structure for the disposal as well as assisting them with guidelines as to acceptable terms of payment method and value, while also providing good quality management information for the purchasers,” said partner, Jonathan Walton (pictured).


“After a pretty flat market over the last year or two, we have certainly seen an uptake in activity, especially as some banks have begun to release funds to buyers, which is good news


for the business community as a whole.”


Walton says that the firm, which also has offices in Banbury, is experiencing a “tremendous amount” of growth, especially across its education, online accounting packages and tax planning services, and enabling it to expand its specialist sector teams.


Leading the dedicated education team from the High Wycombe office is education specialist Martin Wyatt, recognised as one of the region’s leading academies accountant specialists. He is actively advising a significant number of academies, including large multi-academy trusts and stand-alone academies.


In respect of complex taxation advice, Ben Allman’s recent move from the Banbury office, together with his


THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – JUNE 2013


qualification as a chartered tax adviser, has enabled the High Wycombe team to take advantage of his wealth of tax knowledge and increase the range of services it offers.


Online cloud-based bookkeeping packages are also something the firm’s clients are benefiting from. Partnering with Twinfield, the first and largest web service for online accounting in Europe and also Xero, a package aimed at smaller entities, Whitley Stimpson has specialist knowledge of both products and accredited in-house trainers.


“It is of significant benefit to clients because of the ability to work closer with real time information and being accessible anywhere,” commented Walton.


The growth in specialist services is also reflected across other areas of


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the practice, including auditing and company and personal tax, enabling Whitley Stimpson to look into the future with confidence and attract more high-calibre staff to work on quality accounts and an impressive client base.


The firm has offered positions to three trainee accountants for the September intake and is delighted that the exceptional candidates chose Whitley Stimpson ahead of national firms to commence their career as chartered accountants.


Details: Jonathan Walton 01494-685616 jonathanw@whitleystimpson.co.uk www.whitleystimpson.co.uk


saying that employers staging after a certain date will need to “self-service” and, unless they have an adviser in place willing to help them along the process, will not receive any support or help in the implementation process. Indeed, NEST is also likely to go along this route as auto-enrolment gets under way.


• Some providers may also start charging for auto-enrolment assessment tools that will be essential to many businesses if they are to comply with the legislation.


One Pension forecast that by early 2014 the market will be saturated and any businesses looking to receive help and support from knowledgeable and, more importantly, experienced advisers, may find this difficult or costly to obtain.


Details: Sarah Munro or Sarah Walker Sarah.munro@onepc.co.uk Sarah.walker@onepc.co.uk 0118-9734420


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