Strauss: NEST to draw IFAs into SME advice

The implementation of NEST and auto-enrolment in 2012 will drive new business for IFAs in the SME sector, according to Aviva CEO Toby Strauss.

Speaking at the Sesame Symposium in London today, Strauss said auto-enrolment will provide IFAs with an opportunity to move towards advising small and medium enterprises on employee benefits.

Auto-enrolment will see all employees who earn more than £7,475 per year and have worked for their employer for three months automatically enrolled in a workplace pension scheme from 2012.

"We believe the legislation works very well for us collectively as an industry and we think is a big opportunity, not just NEST specifically but also the increase in advice given in the workplace," said Strauss.

"One thing we might see is IFAs traditionally focused on individual businesses moving into the smaller corporate space.

"After all, most good quality individual IFA businesses are focused on individuals but have an awful lot of directors of small and medium sized businesses in their locale that they look after."

Strauss also said the future of retirement will be very different to the current situation.

"At the moment a lot of people talk about needing to work in retirement, but within a few years people will turn that into a positive attribute," Strauss said.

"How many of us will want to retire at 55 or even 65 and live another 20-30 years without doing any work?

"Where as an industry we come in is to ask ‘do you want to work five days a week in some sort of second career or do you want to work three or four days a week, six months a year and do other things?'"