How do businesses benefit from new pension legislation?

The new auto enrolment pension legislation proposed and ready to come to fruition in October 2012 may sound like more unnecessary red tape to many business owners, particularly those who operate on a smaller scale.  This needn’t necessarily be the situation if business owners are encouraged to think laterally and spot the opportunities inherent in any new legislation.

Auto enrolment means that any staff members who aren’t already enrolled in a pension scheme will automatically be enrolled either in a company’s incumbent occupational/stakeholder scheme, or the NEST government approved scheme which has been introduced to fill the gaps.

The new initiative will bring the pension question to the forefront of everyone’s mind and instead of shirking the question which we may have done in the past, we will actively start seeking out companies which offer the best pension.

Here is where one of the major opportunities of auto enrolment lies.  A forward thinking company needs to recognise how important a good pension scheme is set to be when it comes to attracting the most skilled and loyal staff and then keeping them.  This process is the absolute key to a growing business. Companies like nowpensions.com can help you integrate this.

Any good manager will be aware of the need to incentivise a productive workforce – in the past this may have been through company cars, bonuses or basic pay; now though, pensions will gently creep up people’s list of priorities, particularly after a big government advertising campaign set to launch in September.

Whether companies use the NEST scheme with a decent employer contribution or they adopt a more high profile stakeholder/occupational type scheme, the new legislation should be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat.  The transition to auto enrolment should in all circumstances be relatively smooth, particularly with the right advice and furthermore the rollout is set linger over 5 years.

Jane Tchan is editor of SmallBizPod. She has more than 30 years of experience gained from working across a diverse range of industries, including tourism and leisure, retailing, sports sponsorship and food. During that time she has edited a variety of publications and online media http://www.smallbizpod.co.uk