The system allows employers to apply online in minutes without a wet signature. Scheme acceptance is then guaranteed once online documentation such as address and company registration number are verified, and implementation details supplied to the employer within 24 hours.
The system allows employers to choose from five different contribution models, which have been designed to cater for contribution strategies ranging from minimum cost compliance with regulations through different tiers of enhanced benefit.
The launch of the employer online sign up tool follows the launch of a similar tool for advisers that launched in December 2013, and which has since been used for nearly 300 applications.
Now: Pensions chief executive Morten Nilsson: “Auto enrolment is entering a critical phase and effective, efficient online systems are essential in order to keep pace with the market.
“For employers reaching their staging date over the coming months, tackling auto enrolment can feel like a daunting and time consuming prospect. Being able to apply for and set up a scheme online in a matter of hours will make an onerous task much simpler and easier.
“And advisers helping their clients with auto-enrolment will find the simplicity of the system means they can offer a proposition that will be very cost effective in terms of return for the time they will have to spend.”