Why get a pension?

The maximum basic State Pension is currently £102.15 per week. It can be a good thing to try to build up your own retirement income too.

You can get an idea of what your State Pension age is and what you might get by using the State Pension profiler from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP). Go to Directgov and search for the State Pension profiler.

Joining a workplace pension scheme like NEST is one way of putting some extra money aside for later life.

Helping you save for the future

Lots of people choose to save through a bank or building society account. It's one way of saving for the future, but using a pension scheme can offer some extra advantages.

• You're likely to get extra money added to your retirement pot by your employer on top of your own contributions.
• If you work in the UK, extra money from the government could be added to your pot. NEST can claim tax relief on your contributions and add it to your pot. Currently the basic rate of tax relief is 20 per cent which means for every 80p you pay into your retirement pot, you'd normally get an extra 20p from the government.

What are the risks of saving money in a pension scheme?

Because pensions are usually invested in different things like shares on the stock market and property, the value of your pot could go down as well as up. It's even possible that you could get less back than you've contributed.

However, we aim to carefully manage your money throughout your time with NEST. Because of this, it's likely that your pot will grow more than if you just saved in a bank account.