Nest: 10 million members, 10 years of investing

Nest has today published its 2020/21 annual report and accounts for Nest Corporation to add to the Nest pension scheme report and accounts published in September, as well as the 2021-2024 Corporate plan. This follows a year which saw Nest pass a decade of investing for its members; with more than £17 billion invested on behalf of around 10 million members.

Commenting on the reports, Helen Dean, Nest’s Chief Executive Officer, said:

‘This year, as we mark our 10th anniversary, around one in three working-age people in the UK have a pension pot with Nest. We work for them and it’s our ambition to deliver bigger pensions for members, in a better world.

“Over the next decade, we’ll be introducing more innovation, ensuring our members have easy access to essential information for retirement planning and decision-making, so their pension pot can be as simple to manage as their bank account.’

Otto Thoresen, Chair of Nest Corporation, said:

‘The events of the last 18 months have been challenging for many people, including members of the Nest Scheme and the employers who have chosen us as their pension provider. Our priority has been to safeguard our high standards of service and investment management during this period.'

Information contained within the reports include (as at 31 March 2021):

• Nest was managing £17.6 billion on behalf of approximately 9.9 million members and 881,000 employers. This is compared to £9.9 billion, 9.1 million members and 803,000 employers for the same time last year.
• The Nest scheme saw average inflows of £406m per month in new contributions over 2020/2021.
• 6,500 new employers joined Nest on average each month.
• The Nest 2040 Retirement Date Fund has achieved an investment return of 9.8 per cent (net of Nest’s annual management charge) annualised over the last five years. The latest investment performance data can be found in Nest’s most recent Quarterly Investment Report.
• Service channels were available more than 99% of the time in 2020/21.
• 47% of our members are female, 53% are male.
• 48% of the Nest workforce are women, and 25% are from a Black, Asian, or another ethnic minority community.
• In 2016, Nest committed, as part of the Women in Finance Charter, to have 30% of our directors be women. Now 43% of our directors are women and we have increased our commitment. We are now targeting 50% of our directors to be women and, by 2025, at least 30% of our executive team will be women.