Chartered Institute of Payroll Professionals welcomes 1,000 member to automatic enrolment group

The CIPP – the Chartered Institution for payroll and pensions professionals in the UK – launched Friends of automatic enrolment on 16 January 2014 in response to widespread market concerns about the challenges of implementing automatic enrolment, particularly around “capacity crunch” issues for SMEs.

Broadlands Partnership based in Penarth recently joined the group. Martin Holcroft from the firm said: “We felt that by joining the organisation it would enhance the work we are doing to make sure the client has a smooth journey through the process as opposed to them considering it being a burden.”

The FoAE group is the first and only organisation in the country that is both a pension’s automatic enrolment discussion forum and a mechanism for employers to find solutions; and is free to join. Those wishing to join can find out more by visiting www.cipp.org.uk/en/the-pensions-faculty/friends-of-automatic-enrolment/index.cfm.

The CIPP’s Founding Chair of the CIPPs Friends of automatic enrolment and Chair of Pensions BIB, Andy Agathangelou, said: “We’re delighted to welcome our 1,000 member, especially as we creep ever closer towards January 2016 when more than 100,000 companies are expected to stage. We’d encourage all organisations that have yet to start thinking about automatic enrolment to do so as a matter of priority. Their employer duties are not going to go away and the penalties for those that don’t comply can be severe.”

The Friends of automatic enrolment is the CIPP’s clarion call to all the payroll, pensions, software and advisory organisations; plus all the employer groups and professional associations; to work better together so that employers have a better chance of handling their duties compliantly.

Andy added: “Its central aim is to be “a capacity crunch task force” and is open to any organisation that wants to help prevent the failure of automatic enrolment, including employers that wish to find support and guidance on how to overcome the automatic enrolment challenges they face. We want companies to know that we’re here to help.”

The CIPP is also running a survey to find out if organisations are prepared for their staging obligations ahead of January 2016.

Head online to https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/KY8QZHW for more information.