Micro firms should 'be exempt' from pension reform

18/08/2010

All micro firms should be exempt from the automatic enrolment pension scheme, it has been suggested.

The scheme, which is due to come into force in 2012, would place unnecessary financial and regulatory burden on micro businesses, according to the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

Micro firms, those employing 10 people or fewer, will find the proposed changes very complicated to adopt as they do not have the expertise needed to choose pension schemes for their staff, the FSB said.

"The FSB welcomes initiatives to help people save for their future in a pension but we are still concerned the new automatic enrolment pension scheme is going to be an administrative headache for small firms – particularly micro firms – and will cost them in time and money," said Mike Cherry, policy chairman of the FSB.

Earlier this week, the FSB called for the relationship between banks and small businesses to be restored in order to improve relations between the two.

Posted by Dan Morris