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The Department for Work & Pensions (DWP) has published a "call for evidence" on the impact of the annual contribution limit and transfer restrictions on NEST. It said it was seeking views and evidence on whether these constraints were influencing employers' choice of automatic enrolment scheme in unintended ways.
Steve Webb, minister for pensions said: "We are already seeing the positive effect NEST is having on the world of pensions. But we need to make sure this continues as automatic enrolment moves on to smaller firms, and that the constraints on NEST are not a barrier to good consumer outcomes."
In May, the government appeared to oppose removing the restrictions on the auto-enrolment provider in its response to the work and pensions select committee report on auto-enrolment. The committee's report had backed freeing NEST from the constraints. The department acknowledged the select committee's conclusion that the annual contribution limit and transfer restrictions on NEST might prevent the not-for-profit scheme from "servicing market failure", as well as its recommendation that the government remove them.
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