“I do believe in pensions.”- Richard Armitage

So do I and I’m sure millions out there also believe in pensions and why? Well because they stop us having to work through our old age. We need more than what the state will provide for us but how prepared are small businesses?

All small business have to set up pension schemes for their eligible employees; apparently there are at least 45,000 small businesses that have to get a scheme in place this year and if rumours that they are struggling are true, they could face a fine from the Pensions Regulator if they don’t meet their deadline. So why are they struggling? Unfortunately all the pension regulations are complicated and are getting even more complicated with annual changes and tweaks. But there are two other reasons.

Firstly, we must remember that they don’t have the time to keep up with what’s expected – they run a small business with minimal help and can’t afford to take their eyes off the ball and secondly, they don’t have the knowledge nor suitable advisors they can turn to for advice – unlike larger organisations where most already provide pension schemes to their employees and have specialist in-house resources, small businesses don’t have that advantage and will instead bury their heads in the sand thus potentially leaving their staging date to the very last minute and risking a fine.

I am going to make the same point as I always do when businesses are struggling. Get the professional advice you need because this is not going away – it has to be done because the Government says so and burying their heads in the sand won’t make this suddenly disappear.

If you like the way we think – you will like the way we work.

AIMS Accountants for Business are the largest independent association of professionally qualified accountants in the UK specialising in accountancy for small, local and independent businesses. AIMS are no ordinary accountants and we are more than just number crunchers! Find your local AIMS Accountant.