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According to research[1] undertaken by the Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations (ACEVO) and the employee benefits adviser, Foster Denovo, almost three quarters (73 percent) of charities have not as yet assessed the impact of legislative changes to their pension strategy. This compares to a figure of 84 percent in the same survey carried out in November 2008.
And, the proportion who are not aware of the legislative changes has reduced since last year’s survey from 16 percent in November 2008, to 12 percent in November 2009. Nearly half (49 percent) of those surveyed this year stated that they have considered the strategy they will adopt in preparation for the change. This compares to a figure of 34 percent for 2008.
When it came to the question of whether charities had considered the financial impact of auto enrolling relevant staff into a pension scheme, 47 percent of respondents stated they hadn’t. This is a decrease of 16 percent from the 2008 survey, which stood at 63 percent.
Once again, larger charities demonstrated that they are more likely to have considered their strategy; 83 percent for those with 500+ employees, compared to only 31 percent for those organisations employing 1-9 people.
Respondents were also asked what type of pension scheme they envisage offering employees in order to comply with the legislation, an alarming 29 percent of respondents were unable to respond to this question.
Commenting on the survey, Nick Carey, policy officer at ACEVO, said: “Whilst these results are encouraging in suggesting more third sector organisations recognise the impact of the pension reforms, it is critical that wider sector employers are fully aware of and act on their upcoming responsibilities. There are still too many organisations which are either not aware of the reforms or have not adequately planned to meet them. The third sector must ensure it works on this complex issue and not leave it too late, forcing it to act reactively rather than strategically. Auto-enrolment will have a strong impact on the sector and it is vital that organisations are ready to meet this challenge.”
Ian Bird, senior partner at Foster Denovo, added: “Many third sector organisations have used the economic downturn as an opportunity to review their pension arrangement
