National Employment Savings Trust (NEST)

 

 

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NEST — a defined contribution workplace pension scheme — was set up by the UK government to facilitate auto enrolment. As a ‘qualifying’ scheme, NEST can be used by any and all UK employers to make pension contributions. Employers can auto enrol employees in NEST rather than setting up their own pension scheme.

Members can transfer other Defined Contribution pensions they may have into their Nest scheme, should they wish, and are also free to transfer out to another pension scheme, providing they have stopped making contributions into the NEST account.

Although Auto Enrolment is compulsory, membership of NEST isn’t. NEST is, by design, a very simple scheme offering few bells and whistles. Employers with more sophisticated requirements are free to consider establishing other types of workplace/occupational pension schemes.

Key considerations for employers:

1. Which type of scheme are you offering your staff?

Look at the advantages and disadvantages of other employer pension schemes when compared with the NEST scheme. Once you have analysed this, you can then decide which is more suitable for your organisation. A combination of two schemes may be the most appropriate approach initially, with staff eligibility for different schemes contributing to the solution. For example, senior and employed staff being enrolled into an occupational scheme and contract staff being enrolled in NEST.

2. Work on your budgets

Employers have to contribute 3% of every employee’s ‘qualifying earnings’ to their occupational pension scheme, which will have a considerable impact on the costs of the business. If you offer a higher contribution rate, plan for the cost and long-term implications of enrolling all staff on this basis. Look at whether you are making contributions on the full salary amount or band earnings. The key is to budget for these newly introduced measures, so that larger pension contributions do not make a sudden impact on costs. Employers may consider reviewing their total remuneration package in order to absorb these extra costs.

3. Review your current systems to make sure they can cope with the additional administration.

Can your payroll and HR systems cope with any extra administration? This is particularly relevant for any organisations that run both an occupational pension scheme and enrol some staff into the NEST system.

4. Effectively communicate these changes to your staff

Consider how you are communicating these changes to your staff. It is important to try and engage employees with their pension and get them to ‘buy-in’ to your company scheme. A pension scheme is viewed by many employees as an essential part of their benefits package, and when offered as part of the overall remuneration, can add tremendous perceived value to an organisation and the way it views its employees.

Organisations that provide pension schemes above the standard laid out by the government are likely to be a more attractive proposition for new and existing employees and demonstrate a commitment to their workforce.

Employers which offer schemes with contribution rates above the statutory minimum may be interested in applying for a pension quality mark to differentiate their scheme from others. (www.pensionqualitymark.org.uk)

Please contact us for further information and advice.

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NEST IS REGULATED BY THE PENSIONS REGULATOR.

Other Areas of Expertise

Andrea - mid 50s

business owner

I came to see Josh not only helping me plan for my retirement but also in helping me look after a Trust fund for my Nieces. Josh is always quick to respond to queries and deals with all requests in a timely and efficient manner. I feel very comfortable in the fact that if I ask for something to be done or need some advice he ALWAYS delivers.
I have not always had this service from other financial advisors. I would happily recommend Josh to anyone needing financial support.

 

Trevor

Power of Attorney

Following our mother's Alzheimer's diagnosis and admission into a residential care home, my sister and I were looking for financial advice on the options available to fund her care. Our main concern before speaking with Josh was finding an adviser who would provide us with sound financial advice.
Josh provided us with various funding options relating to our mother's residential care provision. These options gave my sister and I the information we needed to determine the best way forward in respect of funding our mother's care needs. Josh provided clear, concise, and timely financial advice, and responses to all our questions were swift, friendly, and easy to understand. He also went out of his way to secure an immediate needs care annuity within the timescales required to meet my mother's urgent funding needs.
My sister and I received excellent support from Warwick Road Financial Services and believe that, without Josh's assistance, we would have struggled to achieve a successful outcome.
My sister and I have a cautious approach when it comes to making major financial decisions. We believe the approach used, and the advice offered by Warwick Road Financial Services, would be of benefit to people who, like us, have a cautious approach when it comes to financial matters.

Darren

IT professional – requiring and receiving ongoing Pre-retirement advice

I approached Jethro several years ago because my wife and I really hadn’t paid any attention to our pension planning. Jethro helped us by identifying various plans from previous employers, and a personal plan that I’d left to stagnate from my contracting days.
The result was that Jethro managed to consolidate all these into single managed portfolios for each of us. One thing we really liked was his clear explanation, regular communication, and friendly but professional approach. He explained things to us in language we could both understand. We found the experience very easy to navigate thanks to Jethro’s detailed and clear explanation and guidance.
We would recommend Jethro to people who need a full-service pension professional to guide them clearly and safely through their options and manage the entire process for them.

Miss Parker

I instructed Claire Adams from Warwick Road Financial services to assist me with consolidating my various pensions into one with Quilter.
Claire took care of everything on my behalf and kept me updated at all times.  Clare was extremely professional, efficient and explained everything in great detail. 
As I was so impressed I also took out life cover, which again Claire found the best deal and it was set up almost instantly.
I would highly recommend Claire to future clients, friends and family as I know they will receive a first-class Service.

Steve

58, Director

We originally approached Lawrence because we were looking for help with our insurance/mortgage and general finances, whilst in our early 20’s.
Before we had met you, we were concerned about obtaining financial advice from somebody who we didn’t know or wasn’t recommended, due to a family members previous bad experience.
Lawrence helped us by putting us at ease, explaining everything in layman’s terms, so that we understood the advice and were always given opportunities to wait, delay or decline any plans that were offered.
As a result, almost 30 years later we still see Lawrence at least once per year to discuss our current situation and our plans. We are in an excellent position financially regarding our mortgage, savings and pensions, largely thanks to Lawrence.
One thing I really like is the trustworthy and friendly attitude he has always shown towards us.
I found the experience very comforting, knowing that our finances were being taken care of by a professional and that our long-term plans were reachable.
The sort of person that would benefit most from using them would be a young couple, starting out in their careers, as we were when we first met Lawrence.

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