Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) bagged a deal to administer UK’s National Employee Savings Trust (NEST) scheme’s administered services under a 10-year deal, worth around £600 million or approximately Rs 4,150 crore.

UK’s Personal Accounts Delivery Authority (PADA) awarded the contract to TCS.

The contract is divided into two stages  with possible extensions of another five years. The first stage will run up to October 2010, allowing TCS to begin the activity required to set up and administer NEST. Prior to the expiry of the first stage, a decision will be made on whether to proceed with the contract for the remainder of the contract term.

“This is a significant contract, with fixed and variable elements. The value of the contract will vary with volumes, which are inevitably uncertain at this stage. However, we broadly expect it to be in the region of £600 million over 10 years (including VAT and inflation),” said a spokesperson of PADA.  “It is anticipated that the services will be primarily IT-enabled, although certain elements of the services will need to be provided via other channels, including by way of telephone.”

Other than TCS, three more firms were invited to participate in the competitive dialogue: Arbejdsmarkedet Tillaegspension (ATP) Group; Great-West Retirement Services (Europe) and Logica UK.

The contract will cover services like employer participation, member enrollment, collection and reconciliation, cash management, accessing pension savings and administration of accounts.

“This project will make a difference to millions of people in the UK and we are fully committed to it. Our selection as the preferred bidder demonstrates our strong domain and solution expertise and highlights our commitment to the UK public sector,” said N Chandrasekaran, chief executive officer and managing director of TCS.