Pensions FAQ
A pension is a tax-efficient means of providing for an income in retirement. The amount of income that the pension will provide will depend on the type of pension, the amount of contributions and how long a period those contributions have been made over.Pensions have traditionally been held by working people, but stakeholder pensions now allow for anybody to now possess and contribute to a pension.
A pension is essentially a long term savings scheme. In fact, it is probably the longest investment you will ever make. Once you invest money in a pension it is locked in place usually until you are over the age of at least 50, and it is very difficult, if not impossible, to release it early. It is obviously in the country's best interests for retired people to not be dependant on state benefits. Hence the government make putting money into pensions very attractive by offering tax relief on these contributions. The more tax you pay, the more attractive this is. Part of the price you pay for gaining this tax relief today is that you cannot get at your pension until a defined point in the future.
There are various different types of pension: employers', personal, stakeholder and state. In addition to these there are also various ways of "topping up" an inadequate pension: Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) or Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contributions (FSAVCs).
