Barclays has inked a deal with Smart Pension that will see the UK lending giant promote the online pension provider to its business banking clients.
The bank’s UK wide network of 1100 business relationship managers will introduce their clients to Smart Pension via the Barclays website, where they will be able to follow a link to sign up, within a matter of minutes.
Firms that sign up through Barclays will be able to offer their employees access to the bank’s proprietary Global Market Funds, which are managed by the same team of investment experts that look after Wealth clients.
Once signed up, Smart Pension offers an online portal for both the employer and employee, so that individuals can manage their participation in the scheme. The portal can be integrated with other administrative programmes such as payroll, admin, reporting and compliance capabilities.
Last year, the bank took a minority stake in retirement technology provider, Smart, as part of its Series C fundraising round.
Hannah Bernard, head, Barclays Business Banking, says: “For many busy small business owners, getting to grips with pensions can seem daunting, particularly when they’re juggling a long list of competing business priorities.
“We hope this partnership with Smart Pension will save many of our customers’ time, and take the stress out of the process. Offering a great pension scheme can help attract and retain talent, and support the growth of your business.”