Got questions about your annual statement?

Whether you know a lot about pensions or are only just looking into them, we’re here to help. Checking out your annual statement is a great place to start.

You might have a few questions, like where to find your statement or how your savings are invested. We’ve covered the most commonly asked questions here.

What’s an annual statement?

It’s your yearly check-in that lets you know how much you’ve saved and how your fund has performed. It also helps you work out if you’re heading in the right direction or if you need to think about saving more.

How do I view my annual statement?

Your annual statement contains sensitive information, which is why we don’t email it to you directly. We’ll send it to your secure mailbox in your Nest account between April and January each year.

1. Log in or sign up if you haven’t logged in before
2. Check your messages by clicking on the mail icon at the top of your home page
3. Open your annual statement message 
4. You can then choose to download a PDF or view the statement in your browser

I’ve forgotten my login details

Don’t worry - we can email you a reminder. Just follow the instructions in our help centre article.

I’ve forgotten my username
I’ve forgotten my password

I’ve been locked out of my account 

We’ll automatically email you an account unlock code within one hour. See how to unlock your account.

Why is my money invested? Aren’t pensions like a savings account?

It’s important that pension providers do this to grow your savings faster than inflation. Inflation means that goods and services become more expensive over time, so a basket of shopping worth £10 today will likely cost much more in 20 years. We want the money you put away today to buy you the same, if not more in the future, and our best chance of doing that is by carefully investing it.

We publish quarterly reports on where our funds are invested and how they’re performing. They may be useful to help you see how your fund works.

My fund has gone down – what’s happened?

It’s never a good feeling to think that you’ve lost out. With all investments, there’s a chance your savings can fall as well as rise. For example, the pandemic and other events caused a serious dip over the last year, with the FTSE 100 falling 34.4% in the first few weeks of the Covid-19 lockdown. However, our members’ investment’s held up better than the markets thanks to our cautious investment approach.

It’s also worth remembering that falls tend to be short term. As our members are invested with us for years, if not decades, we focus on long-term gains. Looking over the last five years, on average we’ve delivered consistently strong returns while taking less investment risk with your money than other pension providers. We want to give you a bigger pension when you retire and we’re putting all our effort into making it happen.

My fund has seen negative returns for more than one year running 

We’re sorry to hear you’ve experienced this. It’s unusual but not impossible that your pot has had a harder time than normal during the 12 months each of your statements cover. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you’ve lost money overall.

Although markets generally go up over the long term, they rise and fall in the short term. The performance of your pot in any twelve-month period will depend on when you paid money in and what the markets did after your money was paid in. That means if your annual statement had covered a different 12-month period, for example between January and December, you might have seen a different picture. While investments can fall in value as well as rise, we aim to make sure that over the decades you might spend saving with us, your pot grows at least as much - if not more than - the rising cost of living after all charges.

Can you tell me more about Nest’s investment approach?

We take a strategic, highly considered approach to investments and have some of the best risk-adjusted returns in the whole industry. That means we’re likelier to deliver profit while taking less risk. In fact, our team of in-house experts has received several awards for doing so, including Best Investment Strategy Award Winner at the Pensions Age Awards 2020, Ultimate Default Fund Winner at the 2019 Corporate Adviser Awards, and Target Date Fund Manager of the Year at the Professional Pensions Investment Awards 2019.

I want to change my fund 

We put every member into a Nest Retirement Date Fund that matches the year we think you’re likely to retire. It helps us manage your money appropriately as you get closer to retirement. These award-winning funds are designed with your needs in mind. However, if you’re looking to invest with specific values or levels of risk in mind, then it’s worth looking at our other fund choices.

If you do choose to switch funds, you’ll need to log in and follow these instructions.

When’s my retirement date set for?

Your Nest retirement date is set to the year we think you’ll start to take your savings from your Nest pension pot. It’s automatically set to your State Pension age or the year you turn 65 – whichever is later. However, you may want your money before then or want to keep it with us for longer so it can grow. If that’s the case, you should change your Nest retirement date so we can manage your money in the way that best suits your plans.

How much does Nest charge?

We apply two small fees - a contribution charge and an annual management charge. These are a percentage of your contributions and of the total value of your pot. You can see the amount paid on your annual statement.

What should I do if my details are incorrect?

It’s surprisingly easy to lose track of your workplace pension savings, which makes it much more difficult to plan for your future and to access your money when you need it. That’s why we recommend you keep your personal information up to date. Simply log in to your online account. You can find and detailed instructions on the How do I update my details? help centre article.

How do I transfer my old pensions?

There are billions of pounds held in lost pension pots in the UK, and the more pension pots we build up the likelier we are to forget about them. Transferring your old pensions into Nest could make it easier to manage your savings.

Move your money today 

How do I update my beneficiaries?

It’s important to let us know where you want your savings to go if you die. It’ll help make sure your pot goes to the right people in the quickest possible way.

There are two main ways of telling us who should inherit your pot. Once you’ve decided, log in to your account to let us know.