The national administrator of auto-enrolment pensions has launched a major procurement for administration services in which digital technology will play a major role.
The National Employment Savings Trust Corporation (Nest), has published a contract notice indicating that it is looking to strike a deal worth up to £1.5 billion - if the contract runs to its longest possible duration - for its administration services, indicating that they should be delivered primarily through digital channels.
The Government-created not-for-profit is running the procurement in anticipation of the end of its existing scheme administration contract with Tata Consultancy Services in 2023. A Nest spokesperson told UKAuthority it aims to award the new deal by the end of next year and is factoring in a lengthy transition period to manage the any risk that could arise from a change of outsourcer.
The organisation is planning for a 10-year deal, with the possibility of extensions for another eight, to support is administration of the National Employment Savings Trust pension scheme.
It wants a fully outsourced service to handle core administration processes including enrolments, collecting pension contributions, managing accounts, providing access to savings, supporting employers in their participation, and passing funds to their administrator.
Success factors
The contract notice also outlines a series of critical success factors, one of which is to ensure its customer services keeps up with changes in technology and draws on deep data analytics.
The others are managing risks, notably in looking after data and assets; supporting its commercial sustainability; securing value for money; and delivering services consistent with its values and capabilities.
Helen Dean (pictured), Nest’s chief executive officer, said: “At Nest we are very proud of what we have accomplished since the start of auto-enrolment in 2012. With the end of staging and phasing, we are now looking to the future for the scheme and the service we provide to our customers.
“The savings sector, technology and customer expectations have evolved significantly over the past decade and this procurement presents an exciting opportunity for Nest to set the course for our service for the next decade.”
Since it launched in 2011, Nest had grown into the largest UK master trust, with 8 million members, 730,000 employers and more than £6 billion assets under management.
Image from Nest
