Letter: Nest will be auto-enrolment opt-out compliant and low cost
NEST would like to congratulate Pensions Week on their excellent supplement ‘The Specialist’ on being prepared for automatic enrolment.
With the Government’s recent announcement on the staging timetable, automatic enrolment should be moving up the priority list for all employers and those responsible for supporting their pension decision making.
There a couple of points on which we’d like to provide reassurance. NEST’s electronic opt-out process, whether via online or telephone channels, will be fully compliant. We are designing our processes to help employers manage opt-out effectively and efficiently. The open letter to Pensions Week [ http://www.pensionsweek.com/Comment-Analysis/Telephone-opt-outs-Nest-CEO-responds ], we hope, made that clear.
The comment by Pitman Trustees about NEST’s charge structure could also raise unnecessary concerns about the suitability of NEST for its target market. NEST is run on a not-for-profit basis and we are legally required to run NEST in members’ interests.
NEST’s member charge is low (0.5 per cent AMC equivalent) and will stay low. Currently those in NEST’s target group cannot access workplace pension saving or can only do so at significantly higher charges.
If you want to find out more about our charges, or about any of our other features, visit our website.’
Graham Vidler, Director of Communications, Nest.