Pensions buying guides?

littly_kitty

Money saving expert has excellent guides for selecting a savings account. I was wondering are there any similar guides for selecting a pension.

There's so many Pension products, I am not sure how to begin going about selecting the right one and would appreciate some advice!

My circumstances are bit unusual. I've just turned 30 and have just gone self-employed. Prior to that I was only earning minimum wage. I live with my parents, so all my income goes into savings, so I could probably put quite a lot into a pension. But I'm just not sure how to select a pension product! I've tried speaking to IFAs, but the advice they gave wasn't that helpful.

Any links to buying guides or other useful sources would be great!

xylophone

http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/england/debt_e/debt_pensions_e/debt_starting_a_pension_e/choosing_a_personal_pension.htm
http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/self-employed-and-pensions

http://www.unbiased.co.uk/pensions
http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/discount-pensions

A start?

BLB53

Any links to buying guides or other useful sources would be great!

Some useful articles on www.retirementinvestingtoday.com

Also a new ebook 'DIY Pensions' - book of the week featured on Monevator last week- http://www.amazon.co.uk/D-I-Y-Pensions-ebook/dp/B00B7QN8XM/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1361465725&sr=1-1

Hopefully you will get a few useful pointers.

atush

Are you sure you were speaking to an IFA? As they generally charge (after an introductory meeting).

You may have been speaking to a Bank or 'tied' FA?

JoeCrystal

Ah, have you spoken to your employer concerning their pension scheme and auto enrollment?

EDIT: Forget about it. Only read that littly_kitty became self employed so...

Cheers,
Joe

dunstonh

I've tried speaking to IFAs, but the advice they gave wasn't that helpful.

In what way?

In IFA should factfind you, complete a shortfall analysis and risk profiler and then go away and research and then present the recommendations and a report telling you who to use, how to invest and how much you should be paying. It would be strange to be none the wiser after all that.

littly_kitty

Thanks for the links, they are really useful! Much better advice than the IFA I visited! (I saw the IFA before Christmas, when it was still free. He seemed more keen to sell me a index linked investment fund than to give any pension advice).

dunstonh

I saw the IFA before Christmas, when it was still free.

It has never been free. Perhaps that is why the "advice" wasnt any good as it never got to that stage. Based on what you have said, I suspect it never got far enough to get to advice stage.

He seemed more keen to sell me a index linked investment fund than to give any pension advice

Which can of course, be held inside a pension.