Category: Pensions · Reviewed by Al Jabbar, Broker · Specialist Risks · Last reviewed 2026-06-10
NEST is the National Employment Savings Trust — a government-sponsored DC pension master trust established under the Pensions Act 2008 (sections 67–86) to ensure that every UK employer, including small employers and those previously without pension provision, has access to a qualifying workplace pension scheme for auto-enrolment purposes. NEST is operated by the NEST Corporation, a non-departmental public body of the Department for Work and Pensions.
Category: Pensions Also known as: NEST Statutory basis: Pensions Act 2008, ss.67–86 Related concepts: Master trust pension, Auto-enrolment, Pensions Act 2008, Workplace pension
NEST has the statutory obligation to accept any employer that wants to use it for auto-enrolment, regardless of the employer’s size or workforce profile. This “public service obligation” addresses the market failure that providers were not previously willing to offer accumulation accounts to low-paid workers in small employers because the unit economics did not work commercially.
NEST was established under sections 67–86 of the Pensions Act 2008. The NEST Trustees (Established and Membership of the Trustee) Order 2010 (SI 2010/911) created the trustee corporation. NEST is authorised as a master trust by The Pensions Regulator under the Pension Schemes Act 2017.
NEST offers a default Retirement Date Fund (a target date fund based on the member’s expected retirement year), ethical and Sharia funds, and a small range of self-select options. Charges are 0.3% per annum on the fund plus a 1.8% contribution charge in the early years (the contribution charge declines as NEST recovers its government start-up funding).
A new employer with 3 employees has its auto-enrolment duties trigger on a hire of an eligible jobholder. The employer signs up with NEST online in under an hour, sets up its payroll integration, and pays 5% employee + 3% employer contributions monthly into employees’ NEST accounts. The employer’s only ongoing duties are payroll, opt-out management and annual declaration of compliance.
This entry is part of the Apex Insurance Wiki. Last reviewed by Matt Bartlett on 2026-06-10. Next review: 2026-12-10.
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