OREANDA-NEWS. February 12, 2014. Thousands of employers staging in 2014 - tool will help advisers and employers cope with capacity

The new tool eases the administrative burden of auto-enrolment on advisers and employers.

The rich functionality includes comprehensive planning and communication tools.

Advisers can manage multiple employers’ staging plans from a single hub.

Employers can keep track of their staging process and manage tasks.

It complements Aviva’s existing auto-enrolment compliance tool.

Aviva has launched an interactive, on-line tool designed to support advisers and employers through every step of the automatic enrolment staging process by providing rich planning and communications capabilities.

Aviva’s Auto-enrolment Planner has been launched to specifically aid advisers as they enter one of the busiest automatic enrolment periods. The Pensions Regulator estimates nearly 30,000 medium-sized employers (employing 50-249 employees) will stage between April and the end of 2014.

Auto-enrolment Planner is provider-neutral and allows advisers to manage multiple employers’ staging requirements from one central hub via the website: www.autoenrolmentplanner.co.uk

Using the planner, advisers gain a clear understanding of the steps and tasks required for each employer as they plan for staging. The on-line project management capabilities include a traffic light system, which highlights tasks that need completing and enables the adviser and employer to work together to identify and address trouble-spots.

It complements Aviva’s existing financial modelling and compliance solution, Auto-enrolment Manager for Employers (AME), enabling Aviva to offer end-to-end automatic enrolment solutions for advisers and employers.  AME was launched in September 2012 and provides a fast and secure way for employers to manage their automatic enrolment responsibilities before and after staging.               
                                                                                                               
Billy Burnside, Aviva’s Head of Platform Development and E-Commerce, said the Auto-enrolment Planner had been specifically developed to give advisers and employers the planning and administrative support they needed through what would be an extremely challenging period. The tool would enable advisers to efficiently manage additional administrative tasks but also remain focused on helping employers get the best pension schemes in place for their employees.

“At Aviva we want to support employers and advisers through automatic enrolment and ensure we do everything we can to encourage them to plan thoroughly and well in advance of staging,” said Mr Burnside.

“Our experience tells us that some employers are struggling to grasp all of the processes around auto-enrolment and are increasingly turning to advisers and providers for help. While there is a lot of information freely available about automatic enrolment, there is little practical help to support advisers wanting to engage with employers and support them through their staging.

“Creating an interactive automated tool is an ideal way to free up advisers’ time so they do not become over-burdened by the administration side of staging while at the same time keeping them at the centre of the auto-enrolment process with their employer clients. And employers who also need help have a clear road-map for getting their staging right.”

Summary of the benefits for advisers:

Allows advisers to manage multiple employers as they plan for auto-enrolment, providing standard template plans or bespoke plans for each employer.

Manages the communications for tasks needing completion, by whom and when.

Sends personalised updates to all parties concerned, flagging tasks that are on target or that need immediate action.

Summary of the benefits for employers:

Helps employers understand the steps that are required to reach their staging date.

Gives a detailed breakdown of the tasks that need to be completed.

Provides regular progress updates by email.

Employers can add in their own notes.

Multiple users can share access.

Employers can use the tool with their advisers or independently.