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Pensions: NEST

Volume 718: debated on Thursday 25 March 2010

Statement

My honourable friend the Minister of State for Pensions and the Ageing Society (Angela Eagle) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

I am pleased to announce the appointment of further members of the NEST Corporation.

Ms Jeannie Drake is appointed as deputy chair of the NEST Corporation. Her appointment will take effect from 1 April 2010, initially as deputy chair designate until the NEST Corporation is established on 5 July, at which point Ms Drake will take on the full duties of deputy chair. Ms Drake is currently acting chair of the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) and will retain this role until PADA is wound up on 5 July 2010.

Ms Drake brings a deep knowledge of the objectives of NEST and the wider agenda for pensions. As deputy chair, Ms Drake will provide an excellent continuity of knowledge and will be able to make an immediate contribution to the running of NEST.

I am also pleased to announce the appointment of the following members of the NEST Corporation:

Mr Tom Boardman;

Mr Laurie Edmans;

Dr Dianne Hayter;

Mr Chris Hitchen;

Mr Julius Pursaill; and

Ms Sue Slipman

Their appointments will be as members designate from 1 April 2010 until the NEST Corporation is established on 5 July. These individuals will bring a wide breadth of knowledge and expertise to the NEST Corporation.

The NEST Corporation will be a non-departmental public body, responsible for launching and running NEST, a new low-cost pension scheme for moderate to low earners who are not currently served by the private sector. NEST will ensure all employers have access to a suitable pension arrangement in order to fulfil their forthcoming duties under the Pensions Act 2008.

In the long term, we expect NEST to have between 3 and 6 million members, and hundreds of thousands of participating employers. Developing and delivering a scheme of this scale is a significant challenge, and these appointments demonstrate the ongoing government commitment to ensuring NEST succeeds.

NEST will be established when the National Employment Savings Trust Order 2010 comes into effect on 5 July. The order will be supplemented by the NEST rules, both of which will be published today. Together, the order and rules set out the scope and parameters for the operation of NEST. An Explanatory Note will be published with the rules, to set out the changes following consultation in April 2009.

Copies of the rules and the Explanatory Note will be placed in the Libraries of both Houses. The order will be published and made available through the OPSI website at http://www.opsi.gov.uk/si/si2010/uksi_20100917_en_1.