A personal pension is a long-term investment that allows you to save for your retirement in a tax-efficient way. Unlike a workplace pension, which is set up by your employer, you can set up a personal pension yourself. Remember that a pension is an investment. The value of investments can go down as well as up and you could get back less than what was paid in. Once your personal pension is open, you can start paying into it or transfer other pensions to it. The money you pay in is invested so it has the opportunity to grow over time – this can be in individual funds or funds that are part of a lifestyle profile.