In a significant development, the British government has awarded the leading software vendor Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) a multi-year contract to run the country’s National Employment Savings Trust (NEST). According to a statement issued by the Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA), a non-departmental public body (BDPB), it will enter into an agreement with TCS in this regard sometime later during March 2010. The contract will be split into two phases and run for up to 10 years, the statement issued by the PADA said.

Although the deal may be extended for another five years, both TCS as well as PADA declined to provide any financial detail regarding the contract.

It may be mentioned here that the personal accounts, now rechristened as NEST is basically an inexpensive pension plan that every establishment may take advantage of with a view to fulfill the new office or factory pension payments beginning from the year 2012. The first phase of the contract will extend till October 2010, enabling Tata Consultancy Services to initiate the actions necessary for establishing as well as administering NEST.

Explaining why the government selected TCS for the job, the chief executive of PADA Tim Jones remarked that TCS had appeared to be a very powerful bidder during the course of their comprehensive procurement. He said that they found that TCS was competent both in respect to their facilities in administering pension schemes and also capability to offer significant value for the NEST members’ money.

Meanwhile, TCS CEO and MD N Chandrasekaran expressed his happiness that the firm has been chosen as the favored bidder for administering the NEST scheme as well as providing organizational solutions and services.