Industry bodies collaborate to ensure quality auto enrolment support available for SMEs

29 July 2016

The Certificate in Pensions Automatic Enrolment, the UK’s only accredited auto enrolment (AE) qualification, has been revised by the SimplyBiz Group, Pension Management Institute (PMI), and Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals (CIPP) in order to increase focus on the realities for smaller employers and reflect the challenges to payroll and business advisers.

The exam syllabus provides a thorough understanding of employer duties, the practicalities of implementing automatic enrolment and the interaction between auto enrolment advice and the practical operational implications to payroll. With the first sittings taking place from 14th September, the Certificate in Pensions Automatic Enrolment is designed to help business advisers develop and demonstrate an understanding of the needs of employers, and help ensure that payroll professionals can identify qualified partners to support their clients.

Elements of the study material, including revised SME case studies, are also mapped-across to the CIPP’s auto enrolment training support for payroll professionals, which include ongoing compliance and re-enrolment activities.

Tom Nall, Workplace Solutions Director of the SimplyBiz Group, commented:

“Over 80% of SMEs haven’t offered a pension scheme before, so they need help with both pension scheme selection and auto enrolment compliance. Many accountants and payroll professionals are finding their clients expecting them to become a pension adviser as well as running auto enrolment processes. This adds complexity and risk, which I believe is best mitigated through a partnership with a financial adviser and, to protect their clients’ interests, they need to be able to easily identify a competent and qualified adviser.

“It was vitally important to us that the revision of the Certificate in Pensions Automatic Enrolment was a collaborative piece of work representing professional bodies, payroll professionals and business advisers as we need to work together to deliver good outcomes for employers and their employees. I believe it’s the first time this level of integrated cross-industry support has been delivered, and I’d encourage all those involved in auto enrolment to go to www.getaheadinAE.co.uk to ensure they make the most of these resources.”

Gareth Tancred, CEO of the Pensions Management Institute, added:

“Automatic Enrolment (AE) is one of the largest societal changes to impact the workplace in decades. Over 6.5 million people have already been automatically enrolled into pension schemes. The Government’s plan sees the larger companies adopting AE first, with small and medium sized enterprises following later. By definition, the larger companies already have a great deal of in-house expertise and external advice. PMI has been running the Certificate in Pensions Automatic Enrolment qualification, the only recognised qualification in this area, since 2012, and it has proved incredibly popular with organisations planning for and coping with adopting AE.

“However, the SME market is very different, with far less in-house expertise and a reliance on advisers. We are proud to be working with the SimplyBiz Group and the Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals to bring this qualification to SMEs with the same rigour and professionalism of the original qualification. I encourage all business leaders to seriously consider using this qualification as part of their team development and risk mitigation, ensuring their employees get the very best value for their long-term future retirement.”

For those taking the qualification, there is a comprehensive training programme provided in the weeks preceding the exam. More information is available at www.getaheadinAE.co.uk