Where to start with setting up a personal pension?

[MrsMcCluskeysCat]

So this is something I've been meaning to sort for a while now but a recent pay rise meaning I take home an extra £200 a month has given me a kick up the bum to sort it.

I do contribute into a workplace pension but both the EEs and ERs contributions are the minimum amount (8% combined I think?), and following the contribute half your age when you started a pension rule I should be contributing at least 11%. There's no option to up your workplace contributions until you are in senior management which is at least 10 years away for me if I do even get that far! I don't have kids yet so have decent disposable income so it seems a waste not to be putting some of this into a pension whilst I can! My parents have also recently retired age 60 and that's what I want one day!

So I was thinking it would be good to hear from others who have set up a personal pension. I think it's a SIPP I want? But after reading a Martin Lewis article and starting to look at deals online I'm not sure if I'm best getting advice from an IFA. I've found a deal online which seems good but would you advise I seen an IFA or has anyone set one up themselves?

Any thoughts welcome really just trying to get my head around what to do

@MrsMcCluskeysCat, the explanation by @Cocomarine of the differences between a pension an an ISA is stop on.

A SIPP is a particular kind of pension.

If you're already maxing on the LISA contributions then you have a choice between contributing to a pension or an ISA.

If you are in the 20% tax band and young, then my personal preference would probably be for the ISA over the pension, for two reasons. 1) when you eventually take the pension money out (with its appreciation), that will be taxed, and if you have a higher income by then, it could well be taxed at more than a 20% rate, 2) if you are saving for a house, you'd be able to use the ISA money in addition to the LISA money if you need or want to, for the deposit.

@Cocamarine is spot on, not stop on (sorry!)

I have set up my own SIPP last year after months of research. I went with Vanguard and also did one with Hargreaves to diversify. The Vanguard one is simpler and does well.

I also have a LISA and other ISAs which I use when I have maxed out my annual pension limit.

I did start of with an IFA who set up my husbands pension with SJPP but their charges are high so we decided to split our portfolio across several providers.

SJPP are not an IFA

[quote Dindundundundeeer]God almighty, your company are idiots! Honestly it can be any blooming number you like. They are being difficult and unhelpful.
thepeoplespension.co.uk/workplace-pension-contributions/[/quote]
Oh well that's interesting... this will definitely be my first step thank you

St James Place (SJPP) are reputed for having very high fees, without having particularly good investment results.

Although there isn’t a specific pension ISA, Vanguard do really easy low-fee target retirement funds which I think could be a good option for you whilst you’re getting started (provided you’re not a higher rate taxpayer). All you need to be able to answer for that is 1) how much can you contribute monthly, and 2) when do you need the money. I think the fees for those are .24% with Vanguard.

I’ve always heard that really you don’t need an IFA until you’ve either amassed a sizeable chunk of money (like at least 300-500k) or you have a lot of complexity. Your situation sounds pretty straightforward to me.

@Dindundundundeeer

AJ Bell are not a pension provider - they are an investment platform which holds your investments, irrespective of the investment wrapper you choose

AJ Bell is very much a pension provider, not quite sure what you think their SIPP is.

I have a SIPP with AJ Bell, so I have a fair idea...

It's a question of differentiating between large pension providers like Fidelity, Vanguard, Scottish Widows etc who have sometimes hundreds of their own funds, and investment platforms like A Bell, Hargreaves Landsdown etc who may a few funds of their own but are largely focused on selling a huge range of funds from all the major investment firms.

So I guess it's largely a question of semantics but, to my mind at least, a useful differentiation. Having said that, Vanguard have such a vast array of funds, and with the lowest charges, that setting up a pension with them is one of the easiest and cheapest ways of saving for retirement.

However, it is definitely worthwhile for the OP to pursue the possible option of making extra contributions to her employer's pension scheme.