{"id":1396,"date":"2014-03-12T09:30:09","date_gmt":"2014-03-12T08:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sjbealehrconsult.co.uk\/blog\/?p=1396"},"modified":"2014-03-12T09:30:09","modified_gmt":"2014-03-12T08:30:09","slug":"how-to-implement-a-nest-pension","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sjbealehrconsult.co.uk\/blog\/how-to-implement-a-nest-pension\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Implement The NEST Pension"},"content":{"rendered":"

Employers who are looking for a simple cost effective pension scheme in order to comply with \"NESTpension auto enrolment may like to consider implementing the NEST pension which has been developed by the government. \u00a0NEST is ideal for \u00a0small and medium sized businesses and helps employers comply with pension auto enrolment statutory legislation.<\/p>\n

Employers may plan to implement NEST in accordance with their staging date or may bring their staging date forward as a volunteer employer. \u00a0It is important to first know when the staging date is before making a decision.<\/p>\n

The first stage of implementing a NEST pension is to contact NEST (http:\/\/www.nestpensions.org.uk<\/a>) and register to obtain an account. \u00a0It is important to finalise set up within 90 days of the first contact otherwise the whole process must begin again.<\/p>\n

NEST should be provided with information about organisation – PAYE reference and contact information. \u00a0There should be a main contact in the organisation but additional delegates can be given access. \u00a0Worker groups and payment sources must then be added.<\/p>\n

The workforce must be assessed according to age, salary and status. \u00a0They should fall into three separate categories \u00a0\u2013 eligible job holders, non-eligible job holders and entitled workers. \u00a0An employer must make pension contributions for eligible and non-eligible job holders but does not have to for entitled workers.<\/p>\n

If implementing NEST and bringing the pension auto enrolment staging date forward employees should be written to at least one month before the proposed staging date. \u00a0Details on the NEST pension should be provided and as part of the pension auto enrolment process eligible workers should be offered the ability to opt out. \u00a0They have one month in which to opt out. \u00a0Any pension contributions that have been taken must then be refunded. \u00a0A consultation meeting should be offered so employees can discuss any concerns and queries about the process.<\/p>\n

If an employer is voluntarily entering NEST they must get signed agreement from the employees to make deductions.<\/p>\n

It is important to get NEST permission to auto enrol early. \u00a0This can be done by contacting NEST and completing a form over the phone which goes to the compliance department. \u00a0It is important to do this in good time in order to prevent any delays in meeting the planned earlier staging date.<\/p>\n

If bringing the staging date forward the Pension Regulator must be informed in writing. \u00a0This can be done online using a 10 digit reference code that the employer will need to obtain or may done by letter or email. \u00a0This should be done in good time and at least a month before the earlier staging date.<\/p>\n

The information to be provided is:<\/p>\n