Pensions of course are designed to enable you to save sufficient money to live comfortably after you have retired from work. There are many different methods of saving for retirement and the taxation and investment elements of pensions can appear baffling. We specialise in explaining, recommending and monitoring pensions for you. Below are the most common sources of pension to fund for your retirement.

• The Basic State Pension - for people who have paid sufficient National Insurance contributions while at work or have been credited with enough contributions.
• Additional State Pension - this is now the State Second Pension (S2P). Before 6 April 2002, it was known as SERPS (State Earnings Related Pension Scheme). From 6 April 2002, SERPS was reformed to provide a more generous additional State Pension for low and moderate earners, carers and people with a long term illness or disability. S2P is based upon earnings on which standard rate Class 1 National Insurance contributions are paid or treated as as having been paid. Additional State Pension is not available in respect of self employed income.
• An Occupational Pension (through an employer's pension scheme) - if your employer operates a pension scheme, it's usually a good idea to find out about the benefits of the scheme.
• A Personal Pension Scheme (including Stakeholder schemes) - open to nearly everyone and especially useful if you are self-employed or your employer doesn't run a company scheme.

State Pensions may not produce the same level of income that you will have been accustomed to whilst working. The full Basic State Pension is only £87.30 per week (2007/08) for a single person (though you would be able to claim means-tested state benefits if that was your only income). It's important to start thinking early about how best to build up an additional retirement fund. You're never too young to start a pension - the longer you leave it the more you will have to pay in to build up a decent fund in later life.

We look at

• Giving you an income in retirement
• Unlocking your pension money
• Making the most of your existing funds and tax relief
• The appraisal of all types of scheme from Money Purchase and Final Salary Occupational Schemes through RACs, RAPs, Personal Pensions and Stakeholder Schemes to Executive Personal Pensions, Sections 32s and FURBs

A pension is one of the critical investments that you will make during your life and at G-Force Financial Services we select the right pension plan for you.

As mentioned above, your sources of pension income will come from a combination of the following sources:

• State Pension Plan
  This is a regular income from the state if you have made contributions throughout your working life.
• State Second Pension Scheme (S2P)
  A 'topped up pension' scheme based on additional contributions made throughout your working life which has now replaced SERPS.
• Occupational Pension Scheme
  This is a pension scheme that has been set-up by your employer and to which both you and them may have made regular contributions to over your working life. These may be either a 'Final Salary Scheme' or a 'Money Purchase' scheme and this will depend on the individual company that you worked for.
• Personal Pension Plans
  This is where you may have set-up your own personal plan and contributed to it from your own personal income.
• Stakeholder Pensions
  These became available from April 2001 and allow a minimum of £3600 a year to be invested in a pension plan. Allowances are made for additional contributions based on age.
• Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)
  Personal pension plans run by individuals, groups or companies offering a high degree of flexibility in how the money is invested. They also have a higher degree of risk than other pension plans.

A Day was on 6 April 2006, when the Government pensions bill came into effect. We can explain the consequences of the new legislation on your current pension provision.

The amount that you actually need to save will depend on your requirements in the next 20/30/40 years and how much money you will need in your retirement.

Our advisers have a wealth of experience in advising clients on the right pension scheme. They consider:

• Your current financial situation
• The level of income you would like to receive
• Your current and future income
• How flexible you want your payments to be
• Your employment status
• The track record of all pension providers

Once a pension plan has been chosen and you have made your initial investment, we will constantly review the plan to ensure that it continues to perform for you.