Most people who are in work are eligible to join a workplace pension where your employer pays in money so long as you do.
From April 2019, you’ll see the amount your boss pays in go up from 2 to 3% so long as you pay 4%. In some cases you may have to pay 5% rather than 4% but that’s only if you don’t pay tax (you can read all about this here).
The point is this – there is a lot of free money floating about so you’d be foolish to miss out. The good news is that if you are between 22 and haven’t got to your state pension, you get to be auto-enrolled and find yourself in a workplace pension unless you opt-out. You have to join the pension scheme to opt-out so the chances are that you’ll be joining around ten pension schemes during your working lifetime.
The main exceptions to the rule are the self-employed who have to choose to join a pension. If you know what you are doing , there is a lot of choice for the self-employed who – being independently minded – often use self-invested personal pensions. A good example of a SIPP that offers good value for money is Pension Bee – you can join their pension on this page – or download a fuller guide than this blog provides
Another option for the self-employed is to join the Government workplace pension which is called NEST. If you are self-employed and want to look at doing this , here’s the link.
If you want to get help with your options , you may want to speak to a regulated financial adviser. Our view is that the best way to find a financial adviser is to talk with sensible people you know who use a financial adviser and take a personal recommendation. If you’d like to ask us about good advisers close to you, we’d be happy to help.
AgeWage thinks that using pension plans to save for retirement is a good idea. We will help you in whatever way you can, and we’ll make sure that you never have to do anything you don’t understand!
