Pensions regulator underestimates number of small firms to auto-enrol by half a million

The watchdog's third annual auto-enrolment commentary and analysis reveals its previous estimate of 1.3 million employers was incorrect and that the total figure will be closer to 1.8 million. It said the higher than expected figure is down to more business start-ups and lower numbers of closures. Commentators were already warning of a capacity crunch as auto-enrolment reached micro-employers, and earlier this month NEST flagged up the risk posed by a surge in demand. The revised estimates show that in summer 2017 there will be a peak of around 350,000 small and micro employers who...