If you get an error when you submit your pension contributions to Nest Pensions, use the steps below to help fix the issue. 

Things to consider:

• The terminology used is Nest terminology, not Sages
• Nest generates the errors at the time of the transmission
• Where possible, we list detailed steps to explain the cause of each error, and how to resolve them
• Depending on the nature of the error, we can advise you to contact Sage support directly
• For further information on the terms used, read Nest pension submission glossary

Before you start

We recommend having your Nest login details to hand.

 NOTE: When comparing details between payroll and Nest Pensions, they must be identical. This includes capital letters, lower case letters, special characters, leading or trailing spaces. 

To find the full error message:

1. Select Summary from the menu bar.

2. From the Auto Enrolment/Pensions section, select View Submission Errors.

The error

You need to check the contribution file you’re uploading.

The Nest header and trailer records refer to many parts of your pension file. Check the payment source name, payment date and group name you created on the Nest Portal. They have to match against the names displayed in Sage Payroll.

If the names don’t match exactly, you’ll need to change them in Sage Payroll.

To check this in Nest:

1. Log in to the Nest website at nestpensions.org.
2. Select Manage Payment Sources.
3. Next select Your Payment sources to find the payment source names you've created.
4. Select Manage contributions then Paid schedules to view your payment dates.
5. Select Manage Groups then Your Groups to find the group names you've created.

To check and amend the payment source, payment date and group names in Sage Payroll:

1. Select Pensions from the menu bar.
2. Select Edit Pension.
3. To make a change select View/Edit.

If you have more than one group in Sage Payroll, you will also need to check each employee.

Make sure they belong to the correct group:

1. Select Employees from the menu bar.
2. Select the Employee name to open their record.
3. Select Workplace pensions. The group name will appear in the Pension plan field.
4. If you need to change the pension details, select Edit.
5. Finally, select Save.

You can then re-try the submission.

1. Select Summary from the menu bar.
2. Then select View submission details. 
3. Finally, select Submit Online.

The same error means the contribution schedule on Nest doesn’t match payroll. Sage Payroll uses 'Tax Weekly' or 'Tax Monthly'.

Speak to Nest to change the frequency on their portal to 'tax weekly' or 'tax monthly' instead of weekly or monthly.