Finances can be "very tough outside football's moneybags Premier League" -- just ask the directors of League One Ipswich Town, according to Julian Knight of the London INDEPENDENT. Off the pitch, "Ipswich's reduced circumstances make the challenge of being a major employer in the local area -- 600 people rely on the Suffolk club for a living -- ever more acute." Like any "medium-sized employer," the club is facing up to the "extra costs and bureaucracy of auto pensions enrolment." Ipswich management accountant Denise Booth explained the "transition to the world of auto enrolment is far from straightforward." Booth said, "Because we have a large number of matchday staff we had to ensure any scheme we choose could cope with enrolling these staff if they wished to join. Also ensuring that their contributions would not be wiped out with administration costs. The main challenge was finding a scheme that covers all the staff and is low on administration charges, both for the employee and employer. Also, choosing a scheme that will benefit the employee in the long term." Everyone is "eligible for the scheme, even those who work for a few hours on a Saturday such as matchday programme sellers and stewards" (INDEPENDENT, 11/2).
