Auo-enrolment pension provider Nest has joined the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the major trade body for the insurance and long-term savings sector.

Nest (the National Employment Savings Trust), is a workplace pension scheme with more than 12.6m members.

Nest was established in 2008 to support the roll out of government-backed automatic enrolment pensions in the UK. It becomes one of the first Master Trusts to join the ABI following changes to the ABI’s membership criteria.

Nest is now believed to be the largest workplace pension scheme in the country, with 12.6m members and one in three of the working population is expected to have a Nest pension pot by the late 2020s, says the ABI.

Nest has invested over £33bn on behalf of members’ and it is believed by the end of the next decade it will have close to £100b in assets under management. Nest is expected to cover more people in future and contribution rates are likely to rise.

Yvonne Braun, ABI director of Long-Terms Savings, said: “We’re thrilled to be joined by Nest as the latest member of the ABI. Nest has been crucial to making auto-enrolment in workplace pensions a reality. As the UK’s biggest Master Trust, the expertise and insight Nest will bring to our work to help people save for their best possible retirement will be invaluable, and we are greatly looking forward to working closely with them.”

Gavin Perera-Betts, Nest’s chief customer officer, said: “Automatic enrolment revolutionised the UK’s pension landscape, bringing millions of people into pension saving, many for the first time. We want to ensure we build on this success, working with the ABI and the industry to support people saving for their retirement.

“We are looking forward to working with the ABI over the coming years and I am pleased to be joining the Long Term Savings Committee to work with colleagues across the industry, representing the best interest of Nest’s members.”