“As we start to plan the next phase of our transformation programme, we’re taking some time to review the support we’ll need. The services Nest offers to members will continue to operate as usual.”

But the story didn’t quite end there. Professional Pensions questioned whether the loss of its long-term IT partner might put in peril Nest’s participation in the pension dashboard and Nest were quick to respond

In a statement, a Nest spokesperson said the scheme had not, to date, applied for an extension. He added: “Our intention is to comply with the staging date obligations. However, like all schemes, we can apply for an extension if needed.”

And Professional Pensions added a note as our audit trail of what was being said with the “Update” added to the headline

Note: This article was updated at 12:25pm on 9 February adding in Nest’s additional comment about pensions dashboards staging date extensions

So what happened?

Contracts as big as this don’t get lost after two years without something pretty fundamental going wrong. Clearly something happened that had not been anticipated by procurement. Serious questions must be being asked internally at Nest and Atos.

The Register , an IT newsfeed , has this explanation

According to details seen by The Register, Nest pushed the termination of the contract after Atos argued that product delivery deadlines should be extended because the publicly owned investment trust had persisted in requesting last-minute design changes. Nest refused to renegotiate the delivery timeline and cited terms and conditions in the contract to try to keep the timetable on track.

These matters  are not being shared with external stakeholders, though if I was the Minister for Pensions, I’d be taking a keen interest.

The  small world who know, the customers who don’t.

I am not minister for pensions but I am aa member of Nest, own an employer participating in Nest and I and my company get a very rudimentary IT experience. I had been promised an upgraded experience but will presumably continue to get what I get now – thanks to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

Yes – that same Tata. Owner of the Port Talbot steelworks and long-time supplier of the member support to Nest pensions.

Tim Jones, UK boss of TATA , former Nest CEO and rockstar.

The UK Executive Director for Tata is an old friend to this blog and to pensions – Tim Jones CBE. Tim got his CBE for his services to Nest when he was its CEO from 2011 015. He has forged his career as a digital champion. He is a nifty guitarist,

His Linked In CV describes his role as responsible for Tata Limited.

Tata Limited is part of the Tata Group, a leading global conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai, India. Tata interests in the UK include Tata Steel Europe, Jaguar Land Rover, and Tata Consultancy Services.

He has now been at Tata for over four years, a period that saw Tata being sidelined by Atos.

I bumped into Tim on a City street earlier in the year , I asked him about Tata losing the administration of Nest and he expressed regret that it had not done more to keep a contract it could have retained.

I assume that he will be happy enough with the outcome as reported in Tata’s heartland.

Good for Tata but is this good for us?

Members, employers and indeed the Government should be asking just why Atos was ever involved, what the opportunity cost of not maintaining the contract with TCS is and we should be considering the counterfactual, a Nest that had adopted a “can do” attitude to interacting with the Pensions industry, rather than what we have seen over the last few years.

Nest did not participate in the PAPDIS pilot in 2015 , stifling the opportunity to have a common interface between payroll and workplace pensions

Nest is not participating in the small pots “member-exchange” pilot in 2023 , citing an inability to manage bulk transfers- out of members. It should be noted that you can transfer in to Nest.

And Nest will not be offering members what it described at the time the deal with Atos was signed as a way of

 “making the most of advances in technology and data analytics to deliver personalized and tailored services to each of its members”.

While many things have gone right at Nest, especially in terms of the investment of our money and the scale that has engaged over 1m employers, 12m workers and around £26bn of our money, Nest is now way off the pace when it comes to delivering support to members.

We should not allow Nest to let this break up with Atos go uncommented. It should make a clear statement of what has gone wrong and why. It should explain what Plan B looks like and be transparent about what will not be delivered which was in plan.

Nest is funded by a subsidised loan from the Government, ultimately that is a tax-payer loan. As both a tax-payer and a Nest member I am concerned.

Kudos to Professional Pensions for bringing this to our attention, but no thanks to Nest for its roaring silence on the matter. This is not about PR , it is about keeping customers informed and assuring them they are getting the quality of service they should expect.

Time to hear something , from Tim Jones’ replacement.

Helen Dean , speaking at the start of her career at Nest in 2016.