Pensions provide the cash to live off when you retire – the more money you put away into a pension, and the sooner you start, the more you will have to live off in retirement. You’re likely to need more cash than the state pension will provide, so most people also have other pensions that they pay into. Three out of five 25-34 year olds have an additional pension.
Start now!
The sooner you start, the longer your pension pot has to grow. To live comfortably in retirement takes a bigger pension pot than you might expect.
Free cash
By paying into a pension, money that would have gone to the government as income tax goes into your pension – if you’re a basic-rate taxpayer, for every £80 you pay into your pension, the government will add an extra £20. If you pay into a pension organised by the company you work for, you also get free cash from your employer!
Follow the money
Losing track of your pensions might mean you lose out on the money that’s due to you. People have on average 11 jobs during working lives, which can make keeping track of old pensions tricky. Currently there is £400m in unclaimed pension savings in UK so make sure you know where your pensions are.