Clean bill of health for NEST in its second independent master trust assurance report

NEST has today published its ‘type 2’ master trust assurance report, confirming its status as a quality, well governed scheme.

The master trust assurance report demonstrates that pension schemes meet the standards of administration and governance set out by TPR. This is designed to help employers identify good quality schemes for auto enrolment and to build confidence in pension saving. The type 2 report assesses how the internal controls outlined in the first report have operated.

Helen Dean, CEO of NEST, said:
‘Good governance is a hot topic right now and rightly so. With millions of workers saving in a pension for the first time, members need to have confidence that the pension schemes they are enrolled into are looking after their pension pots well. We’re delighted that NEST has got a clean bill of health. We’re committed to offering a high quality and well governed scheme and helping millions of workers save for their future.’

The short version of the assurance report, which contains non-confidential data, can be found on the NEST website.

Other independent assessments NEST already has, include:

• Pension Quality Mark READY – we’ve been independently assessed by the National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) and meet their quality standards on good scheme governance, low charges and clear member communications.
• 4 Star Defaqto Rating - NEST has been awarded a 4 Star Rating in the auto enrolment pension category from leading independent financial research company, Defaqto, demonstrating that NEST provides a high quality offering in the auto enrolment market.
• Multi-award winning scheme - we've won multiple awards as a pension provider. Recent awards include Financial News 2016: Best DC Scheme; SME Awards 2016: Auto Enrolment Provider of the Year; Corporate Adviser awards 2016: Best Master Trust; and Pension and Investment provider awards 2015: Multi-employer DC Provider of the Year.
• Award-winning investment approach - NEST’s investment approach exceeds all regulatory guidance and has won multiple awards for its high-quality and innovative approach to looking after members’ money. Recent awards include Institutional Investor Peer To Peer Awards  2016: Best ESG programme; IPE awards 2015: Best DC/Hybrid award; and Chief Investment Officers’ awards 2015: Best DC fund.