PENSION ADVICE NEEDED!

[BettyButterknife]

When I took my current job, part of the contract was that my employer would contribute 5% of my gross salary into a pension as part of the company pension scheme.

Turns out there is no company pension scheme. Instead, my employer has asked me to set up my own scheme into which they will contribute the same percentage.

So I need to find my own stakeholder pension with as little in the way of set up fees as possible. My other criteria are:
Ethical - no arms/tobacco industry investment etc
Flexible - part of my work is freelance so I need to be able to contribute more or less depending on my income at that time

Can anyone advise? What are Virgin pensions like? I have been recommended them as a possible.

Thanks

You need to find an independent financial advisor to guide you through this. The main point of difference is going to be admin costs. All organisations selling pensions will offer a variety of funds from which you can choose depending on your attitude to things like financial risk and also ethics. If you set up a money purchase 'stakeholder' type pension they are usually very flexible and also portable should you want to move job. I have a Scottish Widows pension into which both I and my employer contribute & I've recently asked for my contribution to be increased.... I could decrease contributions just as easily.