Auto-enrolment was found to be the biggest priority for 2012, according to research by global human resources consultancy Aon Hewitt.
The third edition of the Aon Hewitt Benefits and trends survey, which polled 185 organisations representing a total of 650,000 employees, found that a fifth of respondents said they either already operate auto-enrolment or are ready for it.
Nearly three-quarters (67%) of those surveyed are in the process of rolling out their implementation.
Nearly half (46%) of employers with over 10,000 employees are ready for auto-enrolment, while 40% of employers with between 5,000 and 9,999 employees are ready. More than 50% of employers with fewer than 1,000 employees have not started preparing for auto-enrolment.
John Foster, defined contribution consultant at Aon Hewitt, said: “It comes as no surprise that larger organisations are more advanced in their preparation for auto-enrolment than smaller ones because they have earlier staging dates.
“However, despite a major improvement in preparedness, the third edition of our research has shown some uncertainty in terms of how ready organisations appear to be.
“Overall, auto-enrolment implementation explains why DC schemes have this year become a priority area of focus compared to 2011. It is a major project, with a knock-on effect on many other business functions, such as IT and payroll.”
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