Yet most pension advisers are still reluctant to talk with payroll professionals about the staging , Assessment and Opt-Out processes that will begin from this October.
First Actuarial have decided this must change. We cannot advise companies on their obligations without including the payroll managers and those responsible for re-designing systems and processes.
We were surprised that during the consultation with the DWP, providers and advisers felt they could speak for payroll. We were disappointed to discover that much of the legislation surrounding auto-enrolment seemed to have written in an “operational vacuum”.
So the reason for us to sponsor the Payroll World Pension Auto-Enrolment Roundtable was obvious. We want to be the “go to” consultancy for payroll professionals , whatever the stage of the delivery chain you are.
We don’t hold ourselves out as holding any magic bullets but we have “open ears” and we’re ready to listen to what payroll is saying and what they are asking for.
Our job is to help organisations create and understand the process maps. It is , as importantly, to clarify “who does what”. We realise that this one size does not fit all.
For the early stagers, who tend to have more complex HR and payroll arrangements , the division of responsibilities and the clear communication of “who does what” should already be well underway.
But even with smaller companies that may simply use a bureau, the chances of things falling between the cracks are going to be high . They cannot afford to leave these matters to the last minute. We suggest that all companies within two years of staging have established an auto-enrolment working group and we want to be on it!
So we hope that we’ll be hearing from a number of Payroll World’s readers in the weeks and months to come.
Payroll holds the data and so the keys to the success of auto-enrolment! We cannot ignore you – nor you us!
Related articles
- Thank RBS for a Pension and Payroll lesson . (henrytapper.com)
- Auto-enrolment – working out who does what. (henrytapper.com)
- Payroll strikes back! (henrytapper.com)