(2) by what mechanism the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority intends to achieve its strategic aim of re-using existing business services and IT infrastructure for the delivery of services for the National Employment Savings Trust.
A major area of focus of the scheme administration services procurement process was consideration of the benefits of, and possibilities for, the re-use of established systems and IT infrastructure.
At the pre-qualification stage, PADA challenged prospective suppliers on their existing pension administration services, client base and technology assets. Responses on these topics formed part of the consideration which led to four suppliers being short-listed for competitive dialogue.
Throughout the competitive dialogue, PADA worked with the qualified bidders to understand how they would deliver the service using pre-existing, off-the-shelf software and infrastructures.
The winning bidder, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., demonstrated its ability and commitment to using established systems by building a version of the production system, based on its existing IT infrastructure, which demonstrated the strength of its capability to deliver the service requirements.
NEST will be one of the schemes employers can use to fulfil their new duties under the work place pension reforms, legislated for in the Pensions Act 2008.
PADA conducted the procurement of the scheme administration services with regard to the principles set out in the Act, one of which is to minimise the burdens placed on employers. For example, producing payment schedules for employers, clearly setting out the amounts to be paid and by when. Also, ensuring that employers and workers wishing to make additional contributions can do so using a range of payment methods.
This principle is reflected in the business requirements for NEST, which were developed with regard to market research with target employers and members. The winning bidder, Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., has confirmed it will fully meet these requirements.