A NORTH-east financial advisory firm has formed a partnership with a leading pension provider to offer auto-enrolment solutions to eligible businesses.
McHardy and Burnett, which has been operating in Aberdeen city centre since 1987, has joined with Standard Life to provide a streamlined auto-enrolment solution to businesses with over five employees.
The independent firm, which specialise in providing a comprehensive consultancy service to corporate and private clients across a range of areas including pensions, savings, and insurance, is one of 100 UK firms to be working with Standard Life to deliver the ‘Good to Go’ scheme to eligible clients.
The scheme will comprise of a five-step process from application through to evidencing compliance, supported by McHardy’s expert guidance and governance throughout.
The solution will support individual businesses auto-enrolment priorities, whilst providing a high quality pension scheme to benefit employees.
Director and independent financial advisor at McHardy and Burnett, Richard Fletcher, said: “Starting from April 2014, companies with less than 250 employees will need a workplace pension scheme.
“This will see a huge influx of SME’s trying to organise their schemes, and in turn an increased demand and pressure on the pension industry.
“However, it has been recently reported that more and more business are failing to prepare for the changes, with no consideration given to the full requirements or the time and resources required to meet the regulations.
“The ‘Good to Go’ solution will enable firms to focus on their day to day business activities, as we will actively manage and support them with setting up the scheme, helping to assess the workforce and communicate any relevant changes to workers.
“With over 10,000 SME’s staging this year, it is imperative businesses start planning early, ideally around six – 12 months before their auto-enrolment date to offer a smooth transition for the employees.
“A supportive scheme like ‘Good to Go’ will help ensure that all obligations are covered and help to avoid any potential fines.”
Adds a spokesperson: “The new auto-enrolment legislation, introduced by the Government, requires employers to automatically enroll workers into a workplace pension if they are aged between 22 and the state pension age, and earn more than £9,440 per year. Employers will also be required to make contributions starting with at least one per cent in year one and three per cent by 2018.”
McHardy and Burnett, located at Bon Accord Crescent, has already worked with large organisations with more than 3000 employees to oversee the pension enrolment, and is urging SMEs to beat the 2014 capacity crunch and ensure they fully compliant to avoid fines from the Pension Regulator.
For more information about McHardy and Burnett and the ‘Good to Go’ scheme, please call 01224 578 250 or visit www.mchb.co.uk
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