Joining through your employer

We’re the largest workplace pension in the UK, helping over 13 million people like you save. Thanks to auto enrolment, every employer across the country is helping their staff save for the future by setting up a workplace pension.

If you earn above a certain amount and you’re in the right age group, your employer has a duty to automatically enrol you into their chosen pension.

If you’re not automatically enrolled, you may be entitled to opt in.

How contributions work

A percentage of your pay is set aside for your pension pot every payday.

If you’ve been automatically enrolled in Nest by your employer or you qualify because of your earnings and age, your employer also adds a minimum amount towards your total. These are called ‘minimum contributions’.

Contractual enrolment

Your employer could use ‘contractual enrolment’ to set you up to save with Nest. This means that being part of your employer’s workplace pension is written into your contract of employment. They’ll need your consent first, typically when you sign your contract. Your consent allows them to deduct contributions from your salary, no matter how much you’re earning. 

If you’re contractually enrolled, you won’t be able to opt out but you can still stop making contributions if that’s the right choice for you later on. If you choose to stop your contributions your employer may automatically enrol you at a later date.

Opting out

If you’ve been automatically enrolled but don’t want to save for retirement, you can opt out within one month of your employer adding you to their pension scheme. You must be automatically enrolled before you can opt out.

When you can opt out

Re-enrolment

If you’re automatically enrolled and you opt out or ask to stop making contributions into your pot, you might be automatically re-enrolled in the future. This depends on the re-enrolment dates your employer needs to follow and whether you’re still eligible.  

The government asks your employer to re-enrol eligible workers every 3 years to give you more chances to think about whether it’s the right time to start saving for retirement. You may not be re-assessed for auto enrolment if you opted out or stopped contributions within 12 months of your re-enrolment date. Your employer will be able to tell you when their next re-enrolment date is.

Remember that small steps can add up. The earlier you start saving, the more money will go into your pot and the more time it has to grow. 

See how much you could get