Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps she is taking to protect pension contributions paid into (a) NEST and (b) Government pension schemes against fraud.

This Government is committed to providing better outcomes to members of pension schemes, which includes preventing them from losing their hard-earned savings to fraud. Where there is a transfer of a pension measures are in place that give trustees of all pensions schemes the ability to block or delay the transfer if there are circumstances in the transfer process that indicates there could be a scam involved

Nest is independent of Government and operates under the Nest Order which provides the legislative framework. As an authorised Master Trust, Nest is required to operate under broader pensions legislation and the relevant protections that apply. The Trustee has a fiduciary duty to act in the best interests of Nest members and Nest has its own policy and processes in place to ensure members pots are protected.

Most statutory Public Service Pension Schemes are unfunded, and there is thus a limited opportunity for the misappropriation of pension contributions or scheme funds. Government departments and scheme administrators responsible for individual Public Service Pension Schemes are required to manage fraud risks, in line with guidance set out in Managing Public Money.