In this article
If you use Nest as your pension provider, Pento offers a fully integrated process using a direct API. You can find further information on Nest's website
To connect to Nest on Pento, you first need to set up the pension scheme, please refer to our help article How to Add a Pension Scheme to Pento.
Connecting to Nest in Pento
Select Nest from the list of providers, the following pop-up will appear:
You will need to enter your Nest Employer account reference; Username; and Password.
Please note – The Employer account reference is your Employer ID, which starts with EMP and contains 9 numbers
For further guidance on logging into your Nest account, please refer to Nest's Help Centre:
Once you have entered the correct details, select Next which will take you to the following screen where you need to enter the standard company settings:
Employer ID
The employer ID will automatically populate with the details you entered on the previous screen.
Calculate on qualified earnings
Select Calculate on qualified earnings if you calculate your pension contributions on earnings above the lower earnings limit but below the upper earnings limit. If you are unsure, you will need to contact Nest, who will be able to provide you with your settings.
Further guidance on Qualifying Earnings can be found on Nest's website, as well The Pension Regulator's website:
Pension types
Please refer to our help article How to Add a Pension Scheme to Pento for an overview of the pension types. If you are unsure of the correct type, you can contact Nest, who will be able to provide you with your settings.
Contribution rates
Please note - The standard employee and employer contribution rates will be determined by the Group settings you have defined in Nest. Once you have integrated successfully, you can allocate the correct group to each employee on the employee's profile. You can refer to our help article How to enrol staff into an integrated Pension Scheme for guidance on adding groups to employees
Once you have entered your settings, select Save changes, you will then be taken back to the Pension page where you will see the following screen:
After connecting to NEST, your information will be processed. This normally takes 1-2 days.
How it works in Pento
Now that you're connected, there will be a lot less admin for you.
New Starters
Once you have enrolled any new starters into the pension on Pento, they will automatically be reported to Nest when we upload the contribution file.
Contributions files are usually uploaded on your payday, if there are any errors on the file, we will contact you and ensure the revised file is uploaded by the 10th. Once they have been added to the scheme, Nest will send them a welcome pack with details of the scheme, and instructions on how to opt-out should they wish to.
Leavers
Once you have terminated an employee on Pento, their leave date will automatically be reported to Nest when we upload the contribution file.
Contributions files are usually uploaded on your payday, if there are any errors on the file, we will contact you and ensure the revised file is uploaded by the 10th. Nest should then contact them with details of their account and closing balance.
Opt-outs
We check opt-outs via the API daily, therefore, if you have any employees who have opted-out of the scheme on Nest, this will automatically update on Pento. The only caveat is if an employee opts out after the payroll has been confirmed, this will not update in Pento and will need to be added manually in the next payroll.
Please note - Pento will not automatically refund contributions once an employee has opted out within the opt-out window, please refer to our help article How to Apply a Pension Refund.
Reporting Contributions
Once the payroll has been submitted on payday, Pento will attempt to upload your contributions; new starters; and leavers, via the API. If there are any errors on the file, one of our support staff will contact you to make any necessary amendments. We will then ensure the corrected file is uploaded directly to Nest by the 10th
Frequently Asked Questions
I need to amend an employee's pension start date
We are currently working on allowing our customers to update start dates themselves, in the meantime, you will need to contact our support team to assist you. They will require the employee name, and the correct start date in order to update the record for you.
Does Pento make payment to Nest on our behalf?
Pento does not make any direct payments to Pension providers, you should continue to use the payment method you used prior to joining Pento. This would usually be by Direct Debit, or a Debit card.
Please note – Pento approves payments on Nest 5 working days prior to the schedule deadline, this is to ensure your payment is collected by Nest.
The figures on the Nest Portal are different to the Pension Report
You will need to contact our support team who will be able to assist you
I am trying to enrol an employee but it has failed
If you are trying to enrol an employee into the pension scheme and it fails, you will first need to check all the relevant information is complete for the employee, please see below:
If all the details are correct, it could be that the employee is already enrolled/active in NEST. You will need to log into your NEST portal to check. If they are already enrolled, please contact a member of support to reset the pension record, once reset, you will need to select the Already enrolled option. For further guidance on enrolling employees, please refer to our help article How to enrol staff into a pension scheme
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How to Add a Pension Scheme to Pento