...and this Christmas I’m giving a pension
GUESS what my sister’s partner Jason is getting for Christmas from me this year? After the success of his Isa, he’s receiving a pension.
Around 3.5 million selfemployed people in the UK– Jason is among them – are not paying into a private pension, raising the risk that they could be sleepwalking into retirement misery.
They are also missing out on valuable pension contributions from the Government.
A perception that pensions are complex and require considerable investing knowledge is one of the things holding people back.
However, much like in the Is a market, new products are being launched to make managing a pension yourself easier.
For example, Vanguard offers Target Retirement funds, which are a complete ready-made portfolio in one single fund, designed around when you want to retire.
As you get closer to the age you plan to retire, your fund automatically starts to switch out of higher- risk, higherreward investments into more stable ones.