What is a pension?

A pension is a tax-efficient way of saving money for your future. Money that you save during your working life is invested and provides an income in your retirement years, with the funds in most pensions becoming accessible from age 55.

There are many different types of pensions. The most common are personal, occupational and state pensions.

Occupational (including workplace) pensions are offered by your employer(s), who also pay into them when you do, usually as a percentage of your salary. These include defined benefit pensions, previously referred to as Final Salary pensions, which were traditionally offered by larger employers (such as the NHS and local authorities).

Personal pensions are those you set up yourself (although some employers set these up for you too), including right here through Lexo. They include Group Personal Pensions and Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs), the latter of which give you far more options and choices on how to invest your pension fund, while ensuring the rules laid down by HMRC are followed.

State pensions are funded by National Insurance contributions (or credits) during our working life, and offer an indexed pension from your State Retirement Age.