Paul’s talking at a Pension PlayPen coffee morning on Tuesday. Paul is COO of Nest and well known to many of us for a biography of Paul is at the bottom of the blog.
It is an important talk and his answers to your questions will be live and critical not just to Nest but to other workplace pension providers.
This week we had the first indication of how providers will offer value for money to savers who default to – or choose- a retirement income that lasts as long as they do. The link takes you to Pi Partnership’s work.
This is not very catchily referred to in the Pension Schemes Bill as a “decumulation default” and any DC pension scheme must offer it from 2027.
We at Pension PlayPen have been banging on about how 14m Nest savers deserve more than they are getting now and earlier in the year , Paul made an announcement of Nest’s plans. It was at an Institute of Fiscal Studies event and mention was made of a core pension and indexation paid as Nest could afford (conditional).
Since then there has been a procurement exercise for an annuity to be used as part of the “pension” and this has sent people off down the “flow and fix” route where people end up buying an annuity later in life after flowing with drawdown until then.
Paul wants to set the straight and this talk is important for anyone involved in the business or providing pensions from pots. That’s trustees, commercial providers, advisers and- heaven save me to live that long – potential pensioners!
What Nest does will influence the market elsewhere, Nest did not report to PI’s research (published this week) and that makes it doubly important that we get their views , fair and square, compare 14m savers with Nest to the numbers with other commercial providers
People’s and NOW have more members too but Nest is easily the most popular for small employers and employers getting by but not investing more than the minimum AE amounts for their staff.
We’ll get an update from Paul and a chance to work out what can be done by Nest , that Nest has already decided to do. We can assume that Nest and the DWP are talking and we want to know what Nest’s view of the Pension Schemes Bill is!
The event will be at 10.30 am next Tuesday (29th July). You are most welcome. We’d like you to make the effort to register on http://www.pensionplaypen.com if you have not already done as much. We are not charging people to do so, but we do want to build a community. The long term of Pension PlayPen is to be an industry forum for all things “pension”.
A link to the event is available here
For those who think that this is a new plan of Nest’s here’s Otto Thoreson the then Chair. He’s talking with Jo Cumbo, Moreton Nilsson (then NOW) and Patrick Heath-Law 9 years ago. He’s insistent on Nest helping those with pots (however small) get pensions instead. in 2016 he says he’ll be right in 5 or 10 years time! We think he is!
Paul Todd about himself.
With a career in pension policy and investment management, I currently serve as the Chief Operating Officer of Nest Invest, the investment subsidiary of Nest Corporation. In this role, I collaborate closely with our Chief Investment Officer, Chief Executive, Nest Invest Board and Nest Corporation Board to define and execute Nest’s strategic investment vision, ensuring that our approach aligns with the best interests of our members and we are being thought leaders in developing innovative investment and retirement solutions to our thirteen million members.
I joined the Nest investment team in 2008, after working for the UK government in London and the European Commission in Brussels where I was seconded for four years as a national expert on pensions.
At Nest, I have been instrumental in developing our investment and retirement propositions as we’ve grown from zero assets to over £50 billion and developing and delivering the Nest Invest business model as we’ve evolved into an increasingly sophisticated and innovative in-house investment team. I’m driven by our core purpose to deliver the highest quality investment solution for our membership regardless of how much and how often they contribute. Providing high value, low cost solutions through the power of collective purchasing power, and working in a purpose driven organisation with smart and committed colleagues is a huge motivator. I’m particularly proud of the strategic partnerships we’ve developed across the industry in the UK and internationally and being a champion of integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into our strategy.
Key areas of expertise:
• Strategic investment leadership: Guiding the development and implementation of investment strategies that align with member interests and market opportunities
• Building and leading diverse teams to consistently deliver high performance
• Responsible investment: Championing the integration of ESG factors into investment decisions to promote long-term value and positive societal impact
