Personal pensions

Personal pensions are often available as workplace pensions. But they can be taken out by people who do not currently have a scheme at work, or who are self-employed.

Some people choose to pay into a personal pension as well as a workplace pension. They do this to give themselves a bigger income when they retire.

• You can normally make regular or lump sum payments into your personal pension scheme. You pay these to your pension provider.
• Your pension provider should send you a benefit statement every year. This tells you how much your pension pot is worth and gives you an estimate of how much pension you will get.
• Your pension pot is the total amount you have saved into your pension scheme.

Taking time off work or reducing your hours

You may find it hard to keep paying into your pension scheme if you stop working or take time off. If you stop making contributions, your final pension pot will be smaller.

• Check whether your personal pension came with insurance that continues to pay your contributions if you can’t work because of illness. This is called pension contribution protection benefit or a waiver policy.
• You should also check for life insurance as some older pension schemes will also provide it.
• To check the rules and options for a personal pension, check the scheme’s policy document or talk to the provider.