NEST or NHSPS

dunstonh

There is absolutely no logic in NEST being made available to members of the NHS pension. If you are a member of the NHS pension (or any other defined benefit scheme and most occupational defined contribution schemes) you would expect confirmation that you are or will be automatically enrolled but it would be into the NHS scheme. Not NEST.

For NEST to be used, the employer would need to select NEST as the provider and have no open occupational pension scheme available. Clearly with the NHS that is not the case.

Please can you check the wording of the letter again. Also, can you confirm she is an employee of the NHS and an contributing member to the NHS pension? (not perhaps an agency that has no access to the NHS pension)

tiredeyes

Again thanks for the excellent replies.
Yes she works 100% direct for the NHS.
Works on Trauma ward.
Her NHS April payslip states she payed over £100 into her pension this month.
It varies as to how much she earns.
She doesn't sub contract or work for, let's say Initial.
She is employed by the NHS and has a NHSPS.
She gets nhs discount with orange and Vodafone
She has an NHS email address to do this so yes 100% works for NHS

The wording on letter
Welcome to national employment savings trust (nest)
Your employer ******* ******* NHS Foundation Trust enrolled you in nest on 14th may 2013
You get lots of helpful info about the pension scheme, auto enrolment and opting out

It's really really bad that they have signed her up without her prior knowledge.
No communication from NHS hr about this prior to her receiving the letter.
If we had been away for a month lets say, then nest would start deducting money from her paye without a signature without any consent form.
Or if we had moved and not received the letter, or if the postman had delivered the letter to wrong address to an empty house.
Really does stink of hr not giving two flying figs.

Yes I'm sure it's NEST - support@nestpensions.org.uk
Or 03000200090
I signed her up to start using the web based account portal.
As that's the fastest way to opt out.
I rang them and asked them questions about why and how and what and when !
Some questions couldn't be answered (data protection)
But she answered them because she could see my name down for a nest too !
I asked where was my letter ?
She didn't know
She couldn't answer if mine had been setup yet.
I said I was in talks with my new employer for a Scottish widows pension and deciding which fund to start paying into and I didn't want a nest. Already have 2x hsbc, and a standard life pension thanks.
!

We came to the same decision last night and she wants me to log on to NEST and opt out.
The minimum contributions are as follows
0.8% for the next 4 years then it rises to 2.4% in 2017, then in 2018 it rises to 4%
With the employer paying 1, 2, then 3% respectively
But surely only one pension pot can be getting tax relief ?

The words on NEST brochure with the letter state:
We take a small percentage from your contribution (known as contribution charge:/ ) really !
Of 1.8 %
Then a small percentage charge off the value of your pot
(Annual management charge)
In other words for the fat cats to get fatter
Of 0.3 %
So 2.1 percent, worse than Scottish widows !

Thanks about the bank shift answer, yes she remembers that now, just looks worse than her normal wage !
Aha yes the pension might have been auto prompted from her bank shifts ?
The bank shifts are direct with NHS
And yes I'm guessing that too the pension pot is on her basic income
So this nest might be for her bank earnings
Which are separate NHS payslips every week. And she earns around 14k pa on bank shifts. She's never here lol !
Does 3 x12 hour shifts for her normal work then 1 or 2 bank 12 hour shifts a week.
Cheers !

dunstonh

Given that this is the second NHS/NEST post in the last few days, I just checked the scheme rules for the NHS Pension. They say the following (copy/paste):

Q What pension scheme will I be enrolled in?

A. You will be enrolled in the NHS Pension Scheme if you meet the scheme’s eligibility criteria. If you cannot be enrolled in the NHS scheme for any reason, your employer will enrol you in an alternative qualifying pension scheme, such as the National Employee’s Savings Trust (NEST).

Q I qualify for auto-enrolment. When will I be enrolled in the Scheme?

A Auto enrolment is being introduced by all NHS employers over a five year period, commencing March 2013. The largest NHS employers will conduct their auto–enrolment duties first. Medium and smaller sized employers will follow later on. If auto enrolment applies to you, your employer will inform you of your enrolment date nearer the time.

Q I already pay into the NHS Pension Scheme. Will auto enrolment affect me?

A If you are already paying into the NHS Pension Scheme then you should not be affected by auto enrolment. Your employer will write to tell you about this.

Q Do I have a choice about the scheme I am enrolled in?

A No. The NHS Pension Scheme is the default pension scheme for NHS employees to be enrolled in. If you are not eligible to join the NHS Pension Scheme for any reason then your employer must enrol you in an alternative qualifying pension scheme, such as the National Employee Savings Trust (NEST). Once your employer has enrolled you in a pension scheme, you can choose to opt out of it if you wish.

---

My guess is that she has two effective incomes. One qualifies for NHS pension and the other does not.

jamesd

There is no limit on the number of pensions you can have which get tax relief. There is no limit on the number you can have.

The guess from dunstonh makes sense, only HR can confirm it. If dunstonh is right, they may have been required by law to enrol her into a pension for the second bit of work if she might earn enough for that to apply. If that does apply, employers aren't allowed to take instructions from employees not to opt them in. They have to get them opted in then let the employee opt out after receiving communication from the pension company. This is so employers can't try to discourage people from signing up.

jem16

tiredeyes wrote: »

Aha yes the pension might have been auto prompted from her bank shifts ?
The bank shifts are direct with NHS
And yes I'm guessing that too the pension pot is on her basic income
So this nest might be for her bank earnings
Which are separate NHS payslips every week. And she earns around 14k pa on bank shifts. She's never here lol !
Does 3 x12 hour shifts for her normal work then 1 or 2 bank 12 hour shifts a week.
Cheers !

It sounds like she has not joined the NHS pension scheme for her bank shift then although if it's definitely NHS she should have been given the option.

Are there any pension contributions being taken from these separate payslips?

tiredeyes

Hi Jem
No pension contributions on weekly bank shift payslips.
Thanks James, makes sense now.

One thing I want my sons employer to auto enrol my son into one as he is 21 and doesn't think about a pension....
So I can encourage him to start saving like I did at 18 !

jem16

tiredeyes wrote: »

Hi Jem
No pension contributions on weekly bank shift payslips.

In that case your wife has a big decision to make.

As she is not paying NHS contributions on this £14k, it will not be taken into account when she retires. So instead of having say 30 years at £30k, she would only have 30 years at £14k.

Is she eligible for the NHS pension on her bank work? - she needs to check this. If so I would urge her to join.

jamesd

tiredeyes, good idea about your son, though do be sure not to mention NEST to him, it's the least good option he could be offered in my opinion. Even worse for those in their 20s than for others.

If you or your wife are 55 or close to it you might find this post from me interesting. NEST can be notably less bad for those over 55 than for those who are younger and it can be a good idea for such people to sign up for it, just because it's then easy to transfer out.

jem16 is making the really important points here. The main NHS scheme is a wonderful deal compared to NEST or other personal pensions and if there's any way to get the extra income into it, it would almost certainly be the right way to go.