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Get your pension the easy way - from your employer

If you are of working age and you haven’t got round to starting a pension, now is the time to act. Pension enrolment doesn’t have to be hard. The government has introduced a new law designed to help people save more for their retirement. It now requires all employers to enrol their workers into a workplace pension scheme if they’re not already in one.

 

You can choose to opt out but the sooner you start saving for retirement the better because your pension pot builds up over time. What’s more, if you stay in, your employer will contribute to your pension as will the government through tax relief[1]. This means more money goes into your pension pot than just what you put in. 

  

To find out what pension enrolment means for you, and the benefits of staying enrolled, click here

Online calculators:

Future wallet

An online tool that helps you work out how much money you may need in later life. It lets you compare this to your present situation.

State Pension calculator

The State Pension profiler uses information provided to quickly estimate how much basic State Pension you may get. It's based on National Insurance contributions to date. It will also tell you the earliest you may get it. 

Pension calculator

Pension Calculator from the Money Advice Service and Association of British Insurers.

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[1] The government takes tax off your income. You can see this on your payslip.  Tax relief means some of the money that would have gone to the government in the form of tax now goes into your pension pot instead.  

The pension revolution starts now

A major change to how we save for retirement is happening....

To encourage more people to save for their retirement, from October 2012 onwards, all employers will enrol their workers into a workplace pension if they’re not already in one. Very large employers are doing it first, in late 2012 and early 2013. Other employers will follow sometime after this, over several years. 

The aim is to help more people have another income, on top of the State Pension, when they retire. The State Pension is a foundation for your retirement. If you want to have more, you need to save during your working life. The full basic State Pension in 2011/2012 is £102.15 a week for a single person. 

 

   

The government is getting employers to enrol their workers automatically into a pension at work so it is easier for people to start saving. You can opt out if you want to but if you stay in you will have your own pension which you get when you retire. 

What’s more, if you stay in, your employer will contribute to your pension and the government will also contribute through tax relief*. This means, unlike other ways of saving, being in a workplace pension means you’re not the only one putting money in. 

*Tax relief means some of your money that would have gone to the government as tax, goes into your pension instead. 

Minister for Pensions Steve Webb says, “This is the start of the biggest shake-up in the pensions system in a generation.  If we don’t act now, tomorrow’s pensioners could find themselves poorer in their later lives. Not only will we get millions of people saving with a contribution from their employer, many for the first time, but this will also mean a massive shift towards a new culture of saving”.

 

To find out what this means for you, and the benefits of staying enrolled, click here 

 

Do you have a pension? Got a question about the scheme? Or are you looking for work? Feel free to leave your questions and comments below.