If you already have a pension then the younger you are when you get it on track the greater the benefit when you eventually need the money. For example if you have a pension fund worth £100,000 and you can reduce the charges by just 1% a year, Over a 25 year period the projected increase in the final pension fund is an extra £97,689.

I have found that all large institutions have sales targets to meet and they are all about getting in new money and selling new products. When did your bank last ring to ask if you were happy with the existing service and could they do anything to improve it?

The majority of my work is sorting out existing issues helping people planning how to get to where they want from where they are now.

Penalties can occur when you break a contract. The simple answer is to make sure the contract you make does not commit you to maintaining the same level of pension contributions in the future. You need to ask the question ‘What happens if I stop paying after one year and never start again? And ask for the figures to prove it. If your pension is set up with an insurance company (or a bank) they have to meet the cost of paying their salesman/marketing dept etc and this can only come from the pension investment you are making. An Independent Financial Adviser will have far more flexibility and will give you the option of your own company paying a fee to cover the extra work they have to do to set up your pension. This fee should be in lieu of the higher upfront commission and charges that insurance companies (and banks) make.