Sort Your Pension

This book is very simple to follow and assumes no prior knowledge of the pensions system, making it ideal for somebody who is just starting to think about how to build up their pension savings.

The book tells you how to estimate the amount of pension you will need in retirement and how much you have already built up. It then describes how to develop a strategy to get from the where you are now to where you want to be when you retire.

The strategy development section classifies pensions savings in to four separate “strands”:-

• Government Pensions
• Pensions depending on stocks and shares
• Property investment
• An alternative income generator

These strands are referred to throughout the book and where information is given about any particular aspect of planning your pension it is related back to one of the four strands.

The book then goes on to outline some of the main issues and pitfalls in building up your pension, such as,

• How to chose the best scheme
• Should you opt out of the State Second Pension scheme
• Spotting “hidden” charges
• Finding an unbiased financial advisor

Throughout the book there are several true case studies of strategies real people have developed to build up the pension they feel they need to retire on, demonstrating how the information given in the book can have a human impact.

One shortcoming of this book is that whilst concentrating on the amount of pension you need and currently have, it offers very little advice on how the fund you build up prior to retirement relates to the level of pension you can buy with it. A simple rule of thumb such as “£1 per year of pension costs approximately £15 at age 65 and £20 at age 60” can greatly help to put pension saving in to context.

In summary, this book gives a good overview to the basics of building up an adequate pension and gives a “big-picture” view of the areas you need to consider. By virtue of its simplicity, it is not detailed enough to be the only book you will ever need on pensions. Before incorporating any of the outlined strategies in to your pension plan, you will need to research them further. However, the “big picture” view given by the book is well worth the time and money you will need to invest in it (it costs approximately £5 and can be read in an afternoon).

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