PENSIONS
Hassle-free pensions administration
John Hale, Head of Technical Account Management at Nest Pensions, shares how the development of application programming interfaces (APIs) can make the task of pensions administration simpler
T his is something we all want, but it can perhaps prove more difficult to deliver. However, with the development of electronic links between us and payroll software, it’s possible to simplify the administration of your Nest pension. Why is this such a good idea? It enables data – new member and contribution data – to be passed from your payroll software straight through to the employer’s Nest account. It means there’s no need to upload files or input data manually, meaning the process is completed a little faster and certainly with more accuracy. That should help save time for the person processing payroll and save money for the employer. Payroll bureaux and employers are also reassured that by using this service, they would know that whatever was deducted from pay has automatically updated the Nest member accounts with those same contributions. How does it work? This will depend on your payroll software. Nest makes APIs available – nine of them to be precise! Each payroll software firm decides whether they want to interface electronically with Nest and if so, how many of the APIs they’ll access. Obviously, the more they use the better the overall service as far as you’re concerned. Most payroll firms that have an electronic link with Nest via these APIs, are happy for us to list them on our website, here https:// ow.ly/GUoo50V5wrW. Some firms aren’t currently listed, so
if you’re not sure whether your payroll software supports Nest’s APIs, please ask your payroll provider. If they don’t support it now, maybe they’re planning to do so in the future. And no doubt their future plans will be very much influenced by the demand for this type of software link. That’s a good reason to let them know this is something you would like to see in their software. The nine APIs Nest supports include APIs which submit and retrieve data: APIs which submit data to Nest l submit new member records l submit contributions l trigger the employer’s direct debit to pay a contribution schedule l set up a new Nest employer account. APIs which retrieve data from Nest l list of opt-outs l list of members who have asked to stop contributions l employer account details l refunds l list of outstanding contribution schedules. Benefits of using APIs When a payroll software firm has decided to use Nest APIs, they’ll often start by linking to the first two: submitting new member records and submitting contributions. Although this is very useful, there are benefits in adding more APIs to the link. For instance, being able to retrieve lists of members who have opted out, or who have asked Nest to stop their contributions, could mean that once this data has been extracted
from Nest by your payroll software, your payroll records are automatically updated. Being able to regularly check the list of outstanding contribution schedules means you / the employer can ensure there’s no risk of late payment. If the full suite of APIs is built into your payroll software, most of the administration will be done automatically from within your payroll software, so you won’t need to login to the Nest system very often. Tried and tested Nest initially made this service available to a small number of payroll software providers in 2018. In fact, we were one of the first pension providers to launch APIs for pensions. This is a well tried and tested service which we know works well. Today, over 200,000 Nest employer accounts are updated every month using APIs. Many of these are via payroll bureaux who are administering their client’s payroll and running their Nest account for them. Employers of all sizes use Nest APIs, from the very smallest businesses, through to the much larger employers. Next steps If you’re using the service today but can’t take advantage of the nine different APIs Nest offers, it may be time to discuss with your payroll software provider whether they have links to these services, and if not, whether there are any plans to expand their service. And if you’re not using these APIs today, please do ask your payroll software provider if they have these links available and, if not, if they plan to do so in the future. n
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | April 2025 | Issue 109 50
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