NEST pension submission FAQs and troubleshooting

Important: This feature has not yet been fully released to customers. Check the release notes for the latest updates. 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• Dashboard & Setup
  • My payroll isn't showing on the Pension Submissions dashboard
• Submission Errors
  • Error: Automatic payment approval is only available for Direct Debit. 
  • Error: You must provide a valid header or trailer record. 
  • Missing contributions tab under View data/contribution total shows zero before submission.
• Enrolment Errors
  • Error: Pension group missing for an employee
• Contribution Errors
  • Error: Contributions already submitted for this member.
  • Error: Contributions below minimum for pension group.
• Payment Errors
  • Error: No active Direct Debit mandate.
• NEST Account
  • Problem: The NEST account is locked.
• NEST Configuration (Employer to Resolve)
  • Problem: The earnings period starts on the 31st of the previous month and Cintra iQ doesn't support this.
  • Problem: Payment frequency is set to Tax Monthly or Tax Weekly.
  • Problem: The pay date is set as a number of days after the period ends (non-monthly payrolls).
• Current Limitations

Dashboard & Setup

My payroll isn't showing on the Pension Submissions dashboard

Check the following:

• Pension submissions have been enabled for the payroll (Bureau → Organisations → Pension submission settings, or Payroll → Settings → Manage payrolls).
• The start date is on or before the period you want to submit.
• There is no end date set (unless you intentionally stopped submissions for that payroll).
• The period has been rolled forward on Cintra iQ.
• Use the Refresh data button on the Payroll tab if payroll was enabled for Nest submission after the roll forward.
• The History tab: the period may already have been submitted.

Submission Errors

Error: Automatic payment approval is only available for Direct Debit. 

Please approve the payment manually through NEST.

A Direct Debit mandate hasn't been set up, or hasn't yet been processed. Cintra People supports Direct Debit only: debit card and Direct Credit are not supported.

Only an employer can set up a Direct Debit mandate in NEST. Allow up to 5 working days for it to be activated. Until then, the employer will need to log into NEST to authorise payments manually.

Error: You must provide a valid header or trailer record. 

Please ensure the payment source and frequency are correct and that the payment due date is in the correct format: it should match an existing contribution schedule on the system. Please check your data and try again.

OR

Missing contributions tab under View data/contribution total shows zero before submission.

This means there's a mismatch between what Cintra iQ is sending and what NEST expects. Check the following in Cintra iQ:

• Earnings period and pay date: Payroll → Payroll Setup → Third Party Association → locate NEST → Payment Settings tab. Confirm the correct day of the month is selected. 
  • Select Static if the pay date falls on a UK non-banking day.
• Payment due date calculation: Payroll → Payroll Setup → Employer Setup → PAYE & Payrolls tab → Pension Output Payment Due Date based on. Try switching to Pay Period End Date, Paydate, Pay Reference Period End Date, or Custom Period End Date. For more information, see What are employer details?
• Period start/end dates: Payroll → Payroll Setup → Employer Setup → PAYE & Payrolls tab → Pension Output Period based on. Verify against NEST → Manage contributions → Earnings period column. 
  • Check that the period start and end dates are populated when the contribution files are generated in iQ. If empty, check the Current Pension Output Period dates are set under Payroll Setup
• Payment source: Payroll → Payroll Setup → Employer Setup → AE Settings & Information → Pension Scheme Reference → Payment Source field. Must match NEST exactly (case sensitive)
• Employer reference: Payroll → Payroll Setup → Employer Setup → AE Settings & Information → Pension Scheme Reference → Reference field. Must match NEST. 
• Check that the correct pension scheme is linked to the correct NEST EMP number
• Frequency: Tax Monthly or Tax Weekly on NEST - Tax Monthly and Tax Weekly frequencies on NEST are not supported. A new pension group will need to be created in NEST using a supported frequency (Monthly, Weekly, Four weekly, or Fortnightly).

To verify any of the above on NEST: find the employer → Manage contributions → check the Payment due date, Earnings period, and Payment source columns.

Once the fix is applied in iQ, use the Refresh contributions menu item before resubmitting

Enrolment Errors

Error: Pension group missing for an employee

If you have more than one pension group set up on NEST, when you enroll employees, you must assign them to the correct pension group on Cintra iQ.

If the pension group exists, it can be assigned on an employee level

1. Open the employee's Employment record.
2. Navigate to Expenses/Benefits.
3. In the Pensions & Benefits Schemes tab select the appropriate Pension Pay Group from the dropdown.

Should a new pension group be required:

1. Navigate to Definitions (top menu bar).
2. Select Lookups.
3. In the Lookup Administration window, search for Pension Groups in the Lookup Table dropdown.
4. Click Insert to create a new pension group.
5. Enter the pension group name exactly as it appears in NEST (case-sensitive).

If you need to double-check the naming convention, navigate to NEST> find your employer> Manage

groups.

Contribution Errors

Error: Contributions already submitted for this member.

This is a duplicate submission. Log into NEST to verify the employee's NI number or alternative ID isn't matched to another member record.

Error: Contributions below minimum for pension group.

The employee may be assigned to the wrong contribution group, or the minimum contribution threshold isn't being met. Check the pension group assignment in NEST and in iQ (employee's Employment record → Expenses/Benefits → Pension Pay Group).

Payment Errors

Error: No active Direct Debit mandate.

Direct Debit hasn't been set up or hasn't been processed yet. Employer must set up a Direct Debit mandate in NEST and allow up to 5 working days. Until then, payments cannot be authorised via Cintra People.

NEST Account

Problem: The NEST account is locked.

NEST locks an account after 3 failed login attempts. This cannot be resolved in Cintra People. The user will receive an email from NEST with an unlock code. Use the Unlock my account link on the NEST login page. If still not resolved, contact the NEST contact centre directly.

NEST Configuration (Employer to Resolve)

Problem: The earnings period starts on the 31st of the previous month and Cintra iQ doesn't support this.

Employer needs to create a new pension group in NEST (copy an existing group rather than starting from scratch). In the When is your current earnings period due to end section, set the value to 31st. Transfer workers to the new group: NEST → Manage Workers → select employees → Change group → new group → today's date → Move.

Problem: Payment frequency is set to Tax Monthly or Tax Weekly.

Cintra iQ doesn't support these frequencies. Employer needs to create a new pension group in NEST using a supported frequency (Monthly, Weekly, Four weekly, or Fortnightly), then transfer workers as above.

Problem: The pay date is set as a number of days after the period ends (non-monthly payrolls).

Cintra iQ cannot handle a pay date other than monthly. Employer needs to create a new pension group in NEST with a specific day of the following month selected for the payment due date. Transfer workers as above.

Current Limitations