starting a pension at 36!!

[chickenlickin]

OMG I have just found out that my DP does not have a pension. He thought he was paying in every month but wasn't! He is not very good at money organisation so I have taken over the accounts and am sooooo worried! I have a NHS pension (who knows what will become of that). . . Does anyone have any (simple) advise or where and what pension we should sign him up for. Thanks

First place to start is his employer. Do they operate a pension scheme of any kind? Would they be willing to contribute to a private scheme when he takes one out?

If he wants to go the route of a private scheme he should talk to an independent financial advisor and get an idea of the products out there. 'Money Purchase' stakeholder schemes which are portable and flexible are quite popular. The main variable to understand are the fees charged by the company you hold it with. As the adverts say.... 'past performance is no guarantee of future returns'. The main advantage of pension schemes is that any money invested gets tax relief added back. Free money

Retirement planning goes beyond pensions, of course. There are other ways to invest money for the long term. Things like property, unit trusts, inflation-proofed bonds, ISAs... if alongside any pension someone puts together a portfolio of other investments, they are less vulnerable to stock-market problems than if they have all their eggs in one basket.

BTW... your NHS pension will be far safer than any private scheme.

It is still better starting now than at 46.