A quick insight into older style UK (Insurance Company based) Personal Pensions.
Personal Pensions have been around since 1988 and in this time the industry in the UK has gone through great change. Now as we are well into the new millennium the issues with Pensions and Pension Planning are little changed.
As an investor in one of these Early Personal Pension Plans or any other form of Personal Pension you need to be aware of a few things.
Not all Pension Plans are the same, for example of you have a plan with one of the now closed Insurance Company's or with one of the UK High Street Banks there is a good chance you are paying far more in overall charges than you need to be .
Post Credit Crunch we are sure you are not only paying more in charges than you need to, but the range of available Investment Funds could be limited in many ways and this means that you will probably benefit from a review of your planning and a possible move to another more modern provider.
What about a Self Insted Personal Pension?
Have you got one of these and do not understand it? There is help available. We can help, there is a good chance you will be paying way over the top for the privilege of something you never knew you had and that you are illegally to use.
The cynic in me could argue that it suited the person that sold it to you was more interested in the High Charging features than you.
Now many individuals that have the benefit of Company Pensions should have been getting all the reviews and advice required, however it is often the case that these reviews are all put on the back burner and not done, and guess what? You will be surprised when you are 5 years from retirement and you realize that your Pension will not be anywhere near the amount you expected.
A little action now will save a lot of pain later.
In summary, if you have any form of UK Personal Pension Plans in place and these have not been reviewed for sometime, you had better 'get your skates on' as time is moving forward at a rapid pace.
There has probably never been a better opportunity to review, check and make some decisions. Importantly if you have a current Financial Adviser you should contact them as soon as possible.
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