The CIPP's friends of automatic enrolment initative is going national
27 March 2014
Following two highly successful London meetings, the CIPP’s “Friends of AE” initiative is going national.
The friends of automatic enrolment is the CIPP’s clarion call to all the payroll, pensions, software and advisory organisations; plus all the IFA’s, EBC’s, employer groups and professional associations to work together so that employers have a better chance of complying with their employer duties for automatic enrolment.
Andy Agathangelou, Head of Pensions at the CIPP explained:
“The friends of automatic enrolment is the first, and only, organisation in the country that is both a pensions auto enrolment discussion forum and a mechanism for employers to find solutions. So many people want to talk through the automatic enrolment issues they face that we now plan to run regular friends of automatic enrolment meetings in London, Leeds, Birmingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, Belfast, Bristol, Southampton, Manchester, Liverpool, Cambridge, Cardiff and possibly elsewhere if the demand is there”.
Anyone can attend meetings on a no-cost basis, and those that want can put themselves forward and volunteer to become a Regional Chair for their area; these new vacancies need to be filled ASAP. This progressive initiative has been well received; even senior staff from the Pensions Regulator and Department for Work and Pensions have attended meetings.
The objectives of friends of automatic enrolment meetings are:
- To share knowledge and to share best practice in relation to automatic enrolment
- To encourage collaboration amongst service providers wherever possible
- To help employers comply with their employer duties pre and post staging
- To do whatever is possible to help tackle “capacity crunch” challenges
Commercial organisations, associations and employers (pre and post-stagers) are welcome to participate, as much or as little as they want to, and can now do so regardless of where they are in the country, at no cost. A 12-strong volunteer Founding Committee has already been formed.
For further information please enquire through www.friendsofae.org.uk
The next friends of automatic enrolment meeting is taking place in London on Thursday 17 April, and subsequent meetings take place on the third Thursday of every month.