Pension help please

[goonIcantakeit]

I earn about £36K as a sole trader and have two pension funds that total £36 between them..... I'm not contributing to either of them.

My head is out of the sand for the purposes of this thread.... all advice gratefully received.

DH has a final salary pension so we have concentrated on paying as much as possible into that up to the limit (AVGs it is called). There is a widow element but I don't know what the rules are about divorce.

Am expecting to need lots of expensive dentistry in old age! I'm 42.

You probably need to talk to an independent financial advisor about retirement planning. Pensions in the traditional sense, where you invest a regular amount in a managed fund over many years and buy an annuity at the end when it matures, are one option and there are certain benefits e.g. tax relief on contributions. But there are alternatives and, depending on how much you've got spare and what your attitude to risk is, it's worth having more than one basket for your eggs.

My retirement planning, for example involves a private pension fund, a property, tax-free savings/bonds and some long-term stock market investments... so far.