How the Fund is run
The Fund is set up under a Trust and is governed by a legal document called the ‘Trust Deed and Rules’. The Fund’s assets (including members’ DC Start and DC Core accounts) are held in a different place to Nestlé’s assets and can only be used to benefit members and their beneficiaries. All the benefits described on this website are provided directly from the Fund unless we have said otherwise. The Fund is a registered pension scheme under the Finance Act 2004, which means that you get some tax advantages, such as tax relief on what you pay into the Fund.
More details about the Fund are set out in the Trust Deed and Rules, the legal document governing the Fund. This document, along with other Fund documents such as the full Trustee Report and Accounts, Valuation Report, Schedule of Contributions and Statement of Funding Principles can be requested from Nestlé Pensions.
The Trust Deed and Rules will always overrule this website or any scheme booklets that we may have issued in the past in the event of any inconsistencies.
Your trustee board
The Fund is managed by a Trustee Company, Nestlé UK Pension Trust Ltd. The trustee company has an overall duty to run the Fund in line with its trust deed and rules and current trust and pensions law. It acts through its board of directors, who are generally called ‘Trustees’. Please note: this does not mean each director has the same legal duties individually as the trustee company – it is simply a useful shorthand term.
There are currently eight Directors on the Board of the Trustee Company – four appointed by Nestlé UK and four nominated by the active and pensioner members (known as member-nominated Trustee Directors).
The Board has set up three Trustee Committees to manage various matters delegated to them by the Trustee Board. The Committees are:
The Governance & Compliance Committee (GCC)
The GCC has oversight of:
- the Fund’s audits;
- production of the Trustee Company Report and Accounts,
- the management accounts;
- the Fund’s risk register; and
- The Fund’s business plan.
In addition, the Committee has a governance oversight role in respect of the administration of the Fund which includes reviewing the performance of the Fund’s administrators (Nestlé Pensions), monitors the contributions paid to the Fund and reviewing any complaints received from members.
The Defined Benefit Financing Committee (DBFC)
The DBFC is responsible for the management of all investment funding and covenant matters to enable to Fund to achieve its investment and funding objectives. In particular, the DBFC:
- Oversees the implementation of the Fund’s investment strategy;
- Conducts analysis and discussions relating to funding and valuations; and
- Evaluates the Fund’s employer covenant.
The Defined Contribution Committee (DCC)
The DCC looks at governance matters for the defined contribution (DC) sections of the Fund, as well as monitoring the suitability and performance of the DC investment options.
Among other things, the Committee:
- Monitors the performance of the Fund’s DC investments
- Proposes changes to the investment options for consideration by the Board
- Monitoring the administration of the DC sections; and
- Monitors the DC sections platform provider.
We normally hold quarterly Board meetings to conduct the business of the Fund, as well as quarterly meetings of each of the Committees.
Member-Nominated Trustee Directors
Nestlé UK-appointed Trustee Directors
Fund administration
Nestlé Pensions manages the day to day running of the Fund on behalf of the Trustees.
You can find the contact details for Nestlé Pensions on the Contact us page.
Fund documents
Pensions law states that the Trustees must produce a number of documents each year.
You can download the Statement of Investment principles and the DC Chair’s statement online.
The Fund’s annual statement regarding governance of the DC sections of the Fund (the 'DC Chair’s Statement')
The statement describes how the Trustee has met the statutory governance standards in relation to:
- The default investment arrangements in the DC Start and DC Core sections;
- Requirements for processing DC financial transactions;
- Assessment of charges and transaction costs that apply to the investment funds in the DC sections; and
- The requirement for trustee knowledge and understanding for the Fund year in question.
The DC Chair’s Statement includes the Statement of Investment Principles (SIP), and the Investment Implementation Document (IID). These documents all relate to the Fund year of the DC Chair’s Statement. The SIP and IID may be updated at different times. You can download the latest versions of these documents in the section below.
The Fund’s Statements of Investment Principles (SIPs)
These documents set out the principles governing the investment decisions for the Fund. There are two SIPs for the Fund – one for the defined benefit (DB) section, and one for the defined contribution (DC) section.
In addition, the Trustees have produced an Investment Implementation Document (IID) for the DC section. This sets out the detail of the specific investments held in the DC section, and the various policies and procedures that have been put in place by the Trustees in relation to DC investments.
DC section Statement of Investment Principles - dated August 2020.
DC Investment Implementation Document (IID) - dated August 2020.
DB section Statement of Investment Principles - dated August 2020.
You can also ask for copies of:
- The Fund’s latest report and accounts;
- The latest funding report; and
- The Trust Deed and Rules of the Nestlé UK Pension Fund.
General information
Changing or closing the Fund
Nestlé has the power to close the Fund at any time by giving the Trustee one month’s written notice of its intention to stop making contributions to the Fund. Nestlé may also make changes to the Fund, but it has to have the consent of the Trustee and must consult with members.
Ownership of benefits
Your Fund benefits are strictly personal. They can’t be transferred to any other person. And they can’t be used as security for a loan. If you try to do this, you might lose some or all of your benefits.
Keeping you informed
Each year, we send Fund members a newsletter, Pensions News, giving updates from the Trustees of the Fund, as well as information about the Fund membership and funding.
Active members of the Fund receive a pension statement every year showing their individual Fund benefits – built up in the defined benefit and/or defined contribution sections.
Deferred members receive a statement showing how much they have built up in their defined contribution (DC) account, and what this could provide at retirement.