Auto enrolment ‘defying expectations’

NEST has released new figures on small and micro employers, providing the first insights into their behaviours and experience of auto enrolment.

The findings come ahead of the majority of employers of this size meeting their staging dates in 2016 and onwards.

The figures show that the early-staging small and micro employers are ‘defying expectations’ by navigating auto enrolment waters far more smoothly than anticipated.

The figures suggest that small employers are generally rising to the auto enrolment challenge. With far simpler set ups, they are meeting their duties without needing to call their pension scheme or use their waiting period as much as larger employers.

Helen Dean, CEO of NEST, commented, ‘These are the first insights of their kind. We’ve looked at the real experiences, thoughts and behaviour of small and micro employers as they navigate their way through auto enrolment. Did they struggle? Did they fail? Is auto enrolment too much for small and micro employers? Our figures show that concerns are largely unfounded. Defying expectations, small and micro employers are rising to the challenge and meeting auto enrolment head-on.’

The results are based on analysis of the activities of small and micro employers using NEST in 2015. The workplace pension reforms mean most employers will have to automatically enrol workers into a workplace pension scheme that meets or exceeds certain standards. NEST was set up as part of the reforms.