Pensions

[ThisWildPoet]

I am mid 40s with a work pension, only been paying into it for about 12 years, and full NI contributions.
I know there is very little in those, not enough to live on...
Ive been thinking about paying into a private pension, I have around £200 per month available...its it worthwhile? where do I start looking?

Can you add more to your work pension?
Is that work pension a defined benefits or defined contributions?
How is the work pension performing compared to other products?

For me this is one where a good conversation with either a friend or two who knows lots about such things, or paying for a financial advisor can be well worth it.

Advantages of adding more to the work pension: you might get an employer match; if you do salary sacrifice it saves both you and the employer NI contributions - some employers will share their savings with you.

Disadvantages: they are often in slightly more cautious funds, and fees may be higher than you'd pay elsewhere. You may be able to alter the former.

So I'd investigate those options before looking at separate private one.

And make sure you've no gaps in your NI record. At the moment you can fill gaps back to about 2006, but that option closes in a few weeks.