Hmmmm... not the most exciting of subjects but seeing as I'm 15 years away from getting some payout I guess I should dig out what paperwork I can find.
I was employed in higher ed (a Polytechnic, so 'local government') for some years and they've indicated I'll get 4K a year (worked there for 11 years until I was 30).
Had some cash in a private pension when I switched job (that ended under 2 years later) so nothing much in there, but next 15 years (I opted for a Far East fund) might make it grow.
No, after hearing the Moneybox piece on Saturday about the way the pensions companies hit the amount (example given suggested that with no charges, and some nominal rate of growth, paying in for 40 years would give about 250K, but effect of charges could cost over 75K.
Remember it is not just the effect of the management fee, but the loss of compound interest on the fees, which themselves increase year by year.
Guy from Standard Life was asked why they don't charge a fixed fee, and his initial response was that if someone is paying in a small amount each month then they would choose to pay a small percentage. He did, however, acknowledge that as it increases year on year, there's little to justify the increase.
If it's like most financial products, any fees paid out to an advisor also come out during the first few years, in case customer switches to some other firm. That means a bigger hit on what is actually invested, as it would otherwise have been a good starting point when the person is young and would have the longest time period in which to grow.
Back to plan #2, make a million or two from websites, then ensure I don't hook up with a gold-digger. Oh, and leave the UK, given the taxman made me bankrupt, I'm not planning on letting them touch me in future.