The Department for Work and Pensions' (DWP) news that auto-enrolment will be phased in over three years has been largely welcomed by the pensions industry, although concerns over complacency have been voiced be several commentators.

At the Pensions Age autumn conference, held on Friday 25 September 2009, Graham Vidler, Director of Corporate Services at PADA, addressed concerns raised by the industry, admitting that although the scheduled onset of Personal Accounts has been October 2012 for "at least a year", "there will be a longer introduction period,", which he labelled "perfectly sensible".

Financial consultant Mercer has warned employers not to "sit on their hands", particularly those with medium sized or large businesses, which are still required to become compliant in 2012.

Steve Charlton, principal at Mercer, said: "Employers mustn't use this as an excuse to sit on their hands. It's still compliance by 2012 for many employers. We're pleased that the DWP have listened to concerns expressed by the pensions industry on the changes needed to reduce operational risk. Over one million employers need to be included in this process, so it makes sense to spread the introduction for all concerned, be that PADA, TPR, pension providers and employers. There is a world of difference between the needs of a large multinational and those of a micro employer, so testing the system, and ironing out any issues, is a common sense move."

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) has focused on the additional costs and complexity that the relaxed auto-enrolment requirements bring, commenting that additional burdens will arise from changes to existing pension schemes, operational processes, communications and record-keeping.

"The new proposals add further impetus for businesses to tackle the sacred pension cow," Marc Hommel, partner and UK pensions leader at PwC, said. "Businesses see the social merit of the automatic enrolment policy but remain concerned by the additional complexities, costs and impact. The Government has proved it is willing to listen to employers' concerns so perhaps if organisations feel driven to lobby hard against the new certification proposals it will amend these requirements too." PwC added that 2012 should be seen as an opportunity for businesses to maximise value on their pensions spend.

Lovells LLP has welcomed the staged approach, and said: "We are pleased the Government has adopted a sensible approach - working through any teething problems with large employers before extending the scope of the obligations more widely."

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