Private Pension, Where to Start???

oliviarosejackson

Hi everyone

We have no clue where to begin with with this. We are looking for a private pension for OH.

He is 33 in April and paid into a Tesco Pension for around 4 years. It has been frozen since he left the company. He left in 2009. He has never joined the pension scheme with his current employer. He does not wish to stay with the company long term now, so we are looking into a private pension, but we have no clue where to start. We both don't no much about pensions.

He is not getting any young, so we really need to start thing about the future and our retirement. Where would we need to look for private pensions? How do you pay into them? How much should we pay into it?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give.

jem16

oliviarosejackson wrote: »

He has never joined the pension scheme with his current employer.

Is there an employer contribution? If so he should join, short term or otherwise, as he's throwing away free money if he doesn't.

He does not wish to stay with the company long term now, so we are looking into a private pension, but we have no clue where to start. We both don't no much about pensions.

You either DIY by doing lots of research or you seek the advice of an IFA.

How do you pay into them?

You would usually set up a direct debit for monthly contributions.

How much should we pay into it?

A rough guide is a percentage equal to about half his age so around 16% of his salary but a lot of that depends on how much pension provision he already has. At age 35 you would expect to have a fund of around £35k.

atush

I agree, not joing the current scheme os foolish if you are throwing away 'freemoney'. Not to mention it could be a red flag tot he employer that he expects to bolt. Join if they contribute asap. If and when he gos, he can transfer it away with him.

Otherwise, set up a personal pension.

gadgetmind

I second and third what others have said regards employer contributions.

Starting a private pension is *very* easy, and can be done mostly online with very little hassle. I started pensions for wife and daughter with Aviva via Cavendish Online and it was about as low hassle as you can get.

However, you need to ensure you're saving enough to make a difference, also consider your pension situation, and also look at saving outside of pensions too.