Hi all,

I have recently left a job and after returning tshirts etc, I need to get more info on my pension fund.

As I was only there four months, it was a rule that after four months, I would have some money deducted from my wages, and put into a pension fund. A total of £6.29 has been moved into this fund - it's not a lot, but it is still the principle of it.

My former employer say I need to talk with NEST - the pension company dealing with it - but I was not given any account details with NEST.

I'm currently unemployed, but for any future jobs, does the pension money transfer from job to job or could I try to get the £6.29 I'm owed now?

You aren't owed it. The case in value would be pence if that and they would probably charge you an admin fee to process it all.

It won't automatically transfer but you can merge them or keep them seperate.

Google nest and contact them directly they should be able to help from your name, address and likely will need your NI number

Seriously?

Won't it be refunded to you?

A couple of years ago, I left a job about 3 months after the compulsory pension joining, and I got the money refunded. I didn't ask for the refund, it just came back a few weeks after I left.

I spoke to my ex employers this morning and they say its nothing to do with them. Who gave you the refund? Was it your employer or the pension company?

The pension company.

NEST is done online. Your employer will have registered you with them, but you should have received a registration letter with log in details. Ask payroll to chase it up.

Oh yes NEST. The worst pension company in the world.

I doubt your £6 will be worth anything in a few months. You will probably be paying the pension company a monthly fee to look after your month - so that £6 will be swallowed up very quickly.

Right, I have a bit more time to answer the OP in detail. NEST is a Government-backed pension provider, set up because most employers are now legally obliged to provide a workplace pension. Your employer will have had to register your details. You have a 30 day period from enrollment where you can opt-out and reclaim any payments, but things are complicated slightly because you don't appear to have received a letter with your enrollment details. Once you have your log-in and password you can pretty much sort things out for yourself online. I suggest going back to your works payroll / management and finding out when you were enrolled. If they can't / won't help you further, at least you can message NEST and ask them to re-send the letter to your current address.
I found it impossible to speak to anyone over the phone with NEST, but I did use the Live Chat to try and sort a few niggles out. I got a refund (all £5.11 of it) because I'd informed my employer in writing that I wanted to opt out. Not sure if you'll be able to do the same OP.

My understanding is that once the money has gone in to the pension fund it stays there until you turn 55. The good news is that the NEST pension moves with you from employer to employer, so your next job will be able to make contributions and you'll be able to start saving as much as you want.

This isn't a pension fund, it's a weeks pocket money

NEST charge 0.3% of the fund value, so while the fund it is investing could go down in value, the management fee can't wipe out the value of the pension.

Forgot to add, if you don't want to continue saving, you can't close or delete the account, but you can opt-out and stop contributions. Because my company registered me I have a NEST account until I retire, but I've made sure that no money goes into it at the moment. (I have another pension in place already.) So you aren't forced to save, but if you pay £5 a month or whatever in (it's a very small percentage of your wage), then the company has to match it. Once you've got access to your personal account it's quite straightforward to opt out or manage your contributions with a few clicks.

I thought there would be other charges though, a fund based charge for instance.

Pretty sure I remember reading something about a yearly charge the Government imposed to cover the cost of setting up the scheme. Read on MSE that this could be around for as long as 20 years!

Here we are:https://www.nestpensions.org.uk/sche...s-charges.html

Was being nosey seeing what this NEST thing was about

OP you can log in with just your NI number the first time.
https://www.nestpensions.org.uk/sche...r-account.html

I have always worked for pretty large companies with private pensions but I must say this NEST pension scheme seems like a good idea and could save you having to keepmerging your pension plans think I have three on the go 😮

There is a charge on each new contribution but the ongoing charge is 0.3%, nothing else.