2010 could be the year of the corporate platform in the UK.

Wrap platforms are already making inroads into the financial adviser market, but are mainly aimed at advisers providing services to individual clients. The corporate platform takes the same concept, of a sophisticated platform giving access to investments, product wrappers and reporting and administration services, and extends it into the corporate market.

A number of existing individual platform providers are talking about launching corporate platforms, with Scottish Widows and Ascentric recently joining names such as Nucleus, Standard Life, Aegon, AXA, Legal & General and Friends Provident.

As the corporate market is largely serviced by employee benefit consultants (EBCs), corporate platforms might be white-labelled, either for an EBC or for the employer itself. Alternatively, some providers might seek a direct approach to employers, but in the heavily intermediated UK market this may prove problematic.

Corporate benefit experts say corporate platforms need to offer three main elements: an investment platform with a wide range of funds; a range of investment and pension product and tax wrappers and data aggregation together with a portal for employees and employers to access the platform.

Defined contribution (DC) pensions are now widely used in the private sector and one obvious driver for a corporate platform is to enable staff to put maturing company shares, acquired through a company share scheme, into a pension wrapper.

This is extremely tax-efficient, with a number of group self-invested personal pensions (group SIPPs) already set up to facilitate it. Corporate platforms could take this concept further, by also providing a group ISA (individual savings accounts) and a vehicle for unapproved retirement benefits for employees who will become caught by restrictions on tax relief for highly paid staff.

Another possible driver for corporate platforms could be the arrival of the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) low-cost pension scheme in 2012.

Under a series of reforms which will promote this scheme, all employers will have to offer access to a suitable pension scheme for staff. A corporate platform could be a streamlined way of offering a range of options, from a minimalist DC scheme for low-paid staff, through to a richer, group SIPP offering to senior executives.

Corporate platforms may be a strong theme in 2010, but it remains to be seen if they are little more than marketing spin, or a really radical new development in employee benefits.

For employers, having a single platform for all their benefit needs is a great idea, but as with individual platforms, achieving this can be a real struggle.

It should also be remembered that it can be very hard to engage with employees on pensions. Around 90% of employees enter default funds, as they do not make an active choice, while usage of online modelling tools is rarely much above 10%.

Employers need to enter the corporate wrap market with their eyes open and a clear idea of what they need.