Shop around!

I write to advise business owners in Shetland to be careful when choosing which company to go to for pension auto-enrolment.

My staging date was 1 October, and, being as busy as ever, I left it a little late to organise.

However, I felt safe asking one of the major players, a business that I have used before, for a quote. They came back with a figure of £11,400 plus VAT to set it up for all of our staff, and a further £2,850 plus VAT annually to cover ongoing consultancy – a time-charged fee open to review.

These figures shook me to the core so I did what I should have done in the first place and contacted the Federation of Small Businesses pension services.

A very pleasant member of staff immediately came back to me, quoting £1,100 plus VAT to set the scheme up and no annual consultancy fees thereafter. That’s a saving of £38,800 over 10 years!

The message is clear – shop around – and if you’re a member of the FSB, check FSB customer services out first!

Andrew Mackay
Caithness Collection Hotel Group & FSB Caithness & Sutherland Branch Chairman
Norseman Hotel
Wick