Q: Can you help me understand my pension?
A: Personal pensions are pensions that you arrange yourself. They’re sometimes known as defined contribution or ‘money purchase’ pensions. You’ll usually get a pension that’s based on how much was paid in.
Some employers offer personal pensions as workplace pensions.
The money you pay into a personal pension is put into investments (such as shares) by the pension provider. The money you’ll get from a personal pension usually depends on:
- how much has been paid in
- how the fund’s investments have performed - they can go up or down
- how you decide to take your money