Motor-trade business advice specialist Khan Thornton is urging dealers to recognise the risks and warnings highlighted in The Pension Regulator’s three-year corporate plan, published today.

Small and mid-sized firms are struggling with the new auto-enrolment rules, prompting the Pensions Regulator to promise guidance. Principal tax practitioner Dino Khan said: “Dealers, specialists, garages and restorers in the British automotive industry are among those who need to comply, but have no previous experience of such matters.”

New employer duties over the next three years expose 1.3million little businesses, facing new responsibilities for the first time, to possible pension scams (due to reforms allowing open access to pensions), tax avoidance and exotic investment schemes, says the firm.

The Pensions Regulator says that eight out of 10 small employers will seek advice and help from accountants or advisers. However, as the report says, the challenge will be to enable them to find good quality advice, should they require it. “Industry bodies and operators ought to turn to specialists who cooperate with the government to ensure that the biggest set of changes in decades is adequately handled,” Khan said.

There is currently no official list of pension schemes available to small employers, which makes seeking help from independent, specialised accountants and business advisers, a wise move.