How do I choose a personal pension ?

[K1mberly]

I need to set up a personal pension NOW, as my employer wants to pay my bonus into one - apparently it's much more tax efficient .

Do I need an advisor and if so, how do I find one ? Are they paid an hourly rate or on commission ? I have no idea how to evaluate either an advisor or a pension .

Are there websites which give reliable advice ? I've heard so many scare stories about pension scams .

I have money in a superannuation scheme from a previous job in a large public sector organisation but I can't add into it now . My current employers don't need to provide a scheme until 2017, as its a small company .

Do you want your bonus into a pension? Surely if they want to do it fine, but it's your bonus.

Speak to an IFA, look on unbiased.co.uk

You can get an independant financial adviser who you usually pay a one off fee when you take out a product. Or you can do what I did and sign up for one online. I went with Virgin Money. Very straight forward but I worked in banking for many years and am confident with these things. All depends on how you feel about deciding for yourself as it is important. If it is a personal pension your employer cannot pay into it for you, so they will still have to pay you via payroll. It is more tax efficient but like someone else said, this is your bonus and your employer is deciding for you that you can't touch it until you retire.

I am a sahm and would like a private pension, is that possible? Sorry to hijack op.

Yes, very much so. Anyone can contribute to a personal pension. Even if you are not earning enough to pay Income Tax, you can make a maximum contribution of £2,880 and the government will top it up to a maximum of £3,600 gross.

if it's a personal pension your employer cannot pay into it for you

Of course they can!!! A PP is a type of contract ANYONE can pay into it for you!