Dodgy employer- Missing pension contributions- NEST troubles

[Olive5252]

I'm hoping someone can advise on my pension situation.
Im fairly sure im missing thousands of my own and my employer's contributions over the course of 6.5 years.

I work a Zero hours contract with regular shifts every week. My payslip states contribution has been taken apart from one month in 2020 when I was furloughed.

• Workplace pension opened in November 2019 with NEST.
• Moved house and lost pension account details in 2019. In May 2026, I found my pension details and attempted to log in. I found that the account had been closed.* I called NEST who advised my employer had closed the account in September 2025 and opened another account for me (without telling me.)* I received new account details and logged in. I contacted NEST and filled out a form asking them to merge my old account dated [Nov 2019-September 2025] with my new account [September 2025- current].

*They have responded that they cannot find my old account and the merge request has been closed.

Here's my problem.
My employer has not paid any contributions this year at all. Jan,Feb, March, April, May are all missing. And that is only this year! I need NEST to show me what I've lost over the last 6 years so I can finally report them to the pensions regulator.

My employers are never around, and there is a bit of a language barrier. There is also no HR or manager I can speak to. I intend to call NEST again, but I dont know what else to do. I wanted to get all evidence of all missing payments before reporting them, but NEST cant find the old account.

Welcoming all advice. (My current NEST pension is at less than £200.... for 7 years worth of contributions.)

No advice, I'm afraid, but watching with interest because the same thing has happened to someone I know. Employers gave varying stories as to what was happening to the pension contributions - then vanished. Monies were, apparently, not being put where they should be.

Do you have copies of payslips/P60s that will show the contributions deducted from your pay?

You can raise a complaint with The Pensions Ombudsman about this, but you will need to have exhausted your employer’s/NEST’s complaints process first, so raise a formal complaint with both sides.

You could also report your employer to The Pensions Regulator who can take action if they’re not dealing with their workplace pension responsibilities appropriately.

So your NEST pension was closed and a new one opened - with a new provider? Your employer should have consulted you on this. They owuld not have been able to transfer whatever had been despoited from NEST into the new pension account - the employee has to do that instruction, so it sounds as though no contributions have been made (can you see what makes up to £200 in NEST, what period the contributions relate to?).

I would raise this with your line manager and the head of finance at your employer, payrtoll manager if there is one. As there's no HR, you can't copy them in.

I think NEST sends out annual statements, have you got those?

I don't understand how NEST told you your old account was closed and that there's a new account, yet can't find your old account? But you can see there's £200?

Hi, same provider. Nest for both. The period the money came from is in the new account opened September 2025. 3 payments were made in December to cover September, November and December and that is it. That is where the £200 came from. I have had no annual statements because my old account was tied to a previous address. I really need evidence from NEST that there is nothing in the old account, so i can report it to the pensions regulator (who have been informed monthly for years about missing payments).

you need to find your p60s and ensure money was being put into your pension. It might be that nothing was in actual fact being deposited; your payslips or p60 should tell you.

Contact The Pensions Regulator https://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/en/contact-us/scheme-members-who-to-contact/report-concerns-about-your-workplace-pension

This sounds really stressful! Have you asked colleagues whether they've had any issues?

Contact NEST again and ask them to:
Search using your National Insurance number, full name, previous addresses and date of birth.
Confirm in writing whether an account existed from November 2019 to September 2025.
Explain why they previously told you it existed but now say they cannot find it.
Provide the employer reference and payroll reference used for both accounts.
Gather your evidence.
Keep copies of payslips showing pension deductions.
Download or print your current NEST transaction history.
Make a timeline of when deductions were taken and when contributions appear (or don't appear).

Ask your employer in writing for:
A full contribution schedule showing every pension payment made on your behalf.
The dates payments were sent to NEST.
An explanation for the missing contributions.

If your employer doesn't cooperate, contact The Pensions Regulator. They can investigate employers who fail to pay contributions or enrol staff correctly. I wouldn't do this until you have done all of the above. You can also contact MoneyHelper, which offers free pensions guidance and can advise on the next steps.

I would definitely ask NEST why they originally told you your old account had been closed by your employer and replaced, but are now saying they cannot find that account. They should be able to explain that discrepancy. They have to keep x number of years of records.