Helen Dean is to step down as CEO of the UK’s largest pension scheme, the government-backed Nest, which focuses on auto-enrolment.

She will leave Nest in 2024.

Ms Dean was part of the team that built the Nest pension scheme at the Department for Work and Pensions.

During her time as CEO, Ms Dean also oversaw signing the Women in Finance Charter, the creation of Nest’s first diversity groups and published Nest’s gender and ethnicity pay reports.

Before the formation of Nest, she was part of the team that developed the auto-enrolment policy for the DWP to address the UK’s chronic under-saving in pensions.

She moved from the DWP to The Personal Accounts Delivery Authority, Nest’s predecessor, then making the move from policy to delivery.

Ms Dean said: “It’s important for the continuity of Nest that the board has plenty of time to run a competitive and thorough recruitment process, as the priority will be finding the right person for the role. I’m therefore confirming that I’ll be leaving Nest next year to allow someone else the honour and privilege of this wonderful job.

“With the new scheme administrator contract in place, I feel confident now is the right time to step down and allow my successor to continue driving forward the digital transformation of Nest’s platform.”

Nest is the UK’s largest pension scheme and invests around £450m a month on behalf of its members.

Brendan McCafferty, chair of Nest, said: “Helen has helped revolutionise workplace saving, and the fantastic position Nest finds itself in is down to her excellent leadership. I deeply value her energy, expertise, and passion for ensuring the Nest project she started all those years ago remains a success.

“Our focus now is the bright future ahead of Nest. We will begin by looking for the best person to fill Helen’s shoes, not an easy task, and I am confident we will find someone who can build on the strong foundation Helen helped create, advancing our digital scheme and providing a world class service, for millions of people across the UK.”