It is safe to say that the vast majority of people and in particular those in the under thirty five bracket will fail to set aside enough money for their retirement, as our life expectancy levels get ever greater and the number of retired people grows in relation to the ppulation who are in work then we are faced with an increasing state pension bill and for many this will mean they will have to work longer.

There are lots of choices when it comes to planning for your retirement however many of these schems are managed by the same bankers and insurance people who have got the economy into such a mess already so why trust them with your retirement money.

Generally the best option is to join your company scheme if they have one as this provides generally good benefits and the company may contribute on your behalf, the only real risk is if the company goes bust and even then most schemes are protected these days.

A personal pension is like a long term investment plan however you do have to be aware of the risk factors in the funds you invest in and also what the charges are for the scheme, the benefit is you get tax relief on your contributions, I used to have one that I paid into but it has performed badly and I have refused to add any money into it anymore.

Finally you can do your own provision and that is what my boyfriend and I are doing, we are looking to accelerate the repayment of our mortgage and then purchase an investment property and also build up a savings pot as well, that way we have control of the money and understand the risks of what we are doing.