Personal Pension Schemes

The basic state pension, for an individual, is currently £90.70 a week. To boost your income in retirement, you need to make your own arrangements. You can choose between a variety of schemes, many of which were originally devised to take advantage of tax breaks. R

eform of the tax regime, with the introduction of an annual limit on tax-favoured contributions from earnings (£235,000 in 2008/09), and a lifetime limit on tax-favoured savings (£1.65 million in 2008/09), has meant that many of the original restrictions have been sept away, and it is possible that the form of the schemes will change as a result.

It is possible to save a much higher level of income for retirement, and to save it simultaneously through a much wider range of schemes. You can use your occupational pension scheme (see Company pension schemes), a stakeholder scheme (see Stakeholder pensions), a personal pension, and one or more forms of top-up arrangement (see Executive pensions), all at the same time. In this briefing we look at personal pensions.

This briefing explains:

• Who should take out a personal pension.
• How much to pay in.
• How to choose a scheme.
• Where to go for advice.