The Pensions Regulator is consulting on whether to publish a list of pension schemes to address the risk of non-compliance by small and micro employers (SMEs).
Launching the consultation, called Helping small and micro employers identify a pension scheme for automatic enrolment, TPR said publishing a list of pension schemes could help SMEs prepare for auto-enrolment.
It said one in five (290,000) SMEs would not seek advice when choosing a scheme, while one in ten (130,000) were unaware of how to select a scheme, or believes it would be a difficult task.
But from next year, 45,000 SMEs will come under the new workplace pension duties and will need to set up and enrol most of their workers in a retirement scheme.
Charles Counsell, TPR's executive director for automatic enrolment, said the needs and behaviours of SMEs preparing for auto-enrolment are expected to be very different to the large and medium-sized organisations, which have already successfully staged.
He said: 'In line with our "educate and enable" approach, we are working to understand those needs, particularly the ability for small and micro employers to identify a pension scheme they can use to comply with automatic enrolment without the help of advisors.
'We want to head off the risk that small and micro employers may struggle to comply because they lack the information they need to identify a scheme for their staff.'
TPR said it was aware of 30 to 40 providers who offer a scheme for automatic enrolment. Of these however, a much smaller number of schemes have indicated they will not reject employers on the basis of size or low value.
However, the consultations is seeking feedback on this proposal, in particular the views of pension schemes and firms in pensions-related markets.
It is particularity interested in finding out: whether the proposal addresses the risk; how it might affect the pensions marketplace; and, how TPR can execute the proposal effectively and fairly.
Counsell added: 'We believe our proposal to publish on our website a list of schemes that are available for any employer, irrespective of how many workers they have or how much they pay is the right one, and I look forward to hearing the views of stakeholders.'
The consultation closes on December 1.
