48, Self employed, no pension...

flyingpixie

Thank you all so much for your comments! It's really reassuring and motivating. I've been paying my Class 2 NI, and checked my state pension forecast which is at the max it can be. 
I've checked out moneyhelper.org and felt like I've gone round in circles a few times. But its' making more sense now and I keep reminding myself 'Doing nothing is not a good option' (tghanks Dazza1902!) and to do anything now will be a good start. 
Its helped me realise that I don't need to be an expert or get the perfect pension, I can start with something safe and just keep paying in something achievable regularly starting now until I can pay more in. After I pay my tax at the end of the month! 

Albermarle

I can start with something safe .

Your pensions should be invested and not left in cash.
Long term investments will nearly always outperform cash, often by a large margin. The key is long term.

So in fact you want to start off with investments that have a certain level of risk, as these should lead to better growth in the long term, even though in the short /medium term they will bounce around .

Now as you are  new to this you are probably thinking 'I have no idea what to choose' You basically have two options:
1) you can spend some time learning about the basics of investing. These forums can be useful and there are some good youtube videos as well .
2) There are 'robo pensions' these ask you a few questions online and suggest a suitable investment. Inevitably their fees are higher, but can be a starting point. It is easy to switch pensions later if you want.