The Pensions Regulator sets out approach to auto-enrolment - NAPF comment
29 February 2012, Press Release
The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) commented on the approach to the pensions auto-enrolment reforms that the Pensions Regulator set out today.
Richard Wilson, NAPF Senior Policy Adviser, said:
“We are pleased to see that the Regulator is focusing on other crucial players in the auto-enrolment reforms, such as payroll providers and pension administrators. Auto-enrolment cannot work without HR and payroll staff playing a leading role, but awareness and understanding of the reforms in these groups is not high enough.
“The Regulator needs to take a pragmatic and proportionate approach to enforcement. The vast majority of employers and schemes want to comply, but the new rules are so complicated that many will struggle with the detail. It should direct its resources at the small number of employers who are unwilling to play ball, and the instances where employees are genuinely losing out.”
“The Regulator is right to be segmenting the pensions market and considering which types of schemes need the most monitoring and attention. However, its thinking on trust-based schemes is clearly far more advanced than on contract-based schemes, which is strange given how dominant contract-based DC now is. The Regulator and the FSA need to focus on where the risks of poor member outcomes are across all types of pensions.”
Notes to editors:
1. The NAPF is the leading voice of workplace pensions in the UK. We speak for 1,200 pension schemes with some 15 million members and assets of around £800 billion. NAPF members also include over 400 businesses providing essential services to the pensions sector.
Contacts:
Paul Platt, Head of Media and PR, NAPF, 020 7601 1717 or 07917 506 683, [email protected]
Christian Zarro, Press Officer, NAPF, 020 7601 1718 or 07825 171 446, [email protected]