Question: "Should I start contributing to a personal pension if I already have a workplace pension, or is it better to focus on one?"
This is a good point. Generally my thoughts on investing start with the mantra "spread your bets".
That is, it’s always best to spread your money over different asset classes and different products in case one or more goes under.
That way you have other investments to fall back on if one of them crashes.
Jasmine Birtles answers questions from GB News members in the exclusive pensions and retirement Q&AJASMINE BIRTLES | GETTYHowever there’s a lot to be said for keeping things simple where possible, particularly if you have a pension that is performing well.
It’s worth speaking to your HR department or your line manager to see how well your company pension is performing.
If it’s doing well then it’s worth keeping with it and adding more in, particularly if your employers match your payments. That’s free money.
David Meliveo, the chief commercial officer for The People’s Pension, which serves nearly seven million UK workers adds: "If you are one of the 11 million people automatically enrolled into your workplace pension it may make sense for you to up your contributions to that pot rather than start saving into a personal pension.
"Not everyone realises this but many employers will match any increase in pension contributions made by their workers, which is a fantastic way to boost your retirement pot. It is always worth checking with your employer if they will match additional contributions.
"Another thing to remember about workplace pensions is that the fees are capped at 0.75 per cent, although they are typically lower than this, whereas there is no cap to what providers of retail, or non-workplace, pensions can charge.
"Although pension charges may appear small, excessive charges can have a material impact on the size of your pension once you hit retirement."
If you are in the happy position of having extra money each month that you could invest for your future, you could set up a stocks and shares ISA and put money into that.
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GETTYYou are allowed to invest up to £20,000 per tax year (April 6th to April 5th) and any gains you make are net of tax. When you take money out of your ISA it is also not taxed.
It can be really worthwhile to have a pension and ISA investments.
They both have tax advantages but while pensions don’t allow you to take money out until you are at least 55 (rising to 57 in April 2028), ISAs are more flexible and allow you to take the money out when you like.
