The answer, of course, is maybe, maybe not. Some customers have been happy with their NPI pension (NPI being the National Provident Institution), while others have reported very poor returns on their investments, and difficulty transferring away from NPI.

The story is the same for many pension providers, and is unsurprising, since every customer’s personal circumstances are different. That being the case, it’s vital to be well-advised on your choices, and most of the problems arise when people are, precisely, not that.

The first thing to know about financial advising is that it is important to consult an ‘IFA’—an independent financial adviser. This means that the adviser is not working on behalf of a company, or a select group of companies, and can give you completely impartial advice on where you would be best going for your pension scheme given the facts of your personal circumstances. However, it is also important to choose an IFA that specializes in pensions, such as Pensionlite.

If, for example, you had a problem with your plumbing, your local handyman may be a great guy, and able to do a passable job, but you’d be better off going to a specialist plumber.

The same applies for pensions! The market and associated legislation and regulations are sufficiently complex and fast-changing that it takes specialism to know the ins and outs of the world of pensions thoroughly.

Specialist knowledge is also vital because no two customers’ situations are exactly the same, the upshot of which is that there is little ‘standard wisdom’ than can be applied to most cases.

It all depends on your own needs, aspirations and attitude to investment risk, and as such, your IFA needs to have sufficient knowledge and closely relevant experience to be able to adapt to your particular circumstances.

So, a pensions-specialist IFA such as Pensionlite is able to cast an expert eye over the whole pensions market, and make recommendations completely impartially, and based entirely on your personal case.

For instance, NPI, to continue with the same example, offer a range of what are known as ‘with-profit’ funds.

If your attitude to investment risk is fairly cautious, these probably wouldn’t be an appropriate option for you, since they can be somewhat risky due to your pension income being directly linked to investment performance in an immediate sense.

Indeed, during the recent recession, for obvious reasons, many such pension schemes have not done well at all. If you prefer to have a more secure pension scheme then a company pension may be best for you. Or, you may like to combine the two.

The point is that the options open to you are, today, quite numerous. Choose the right ones, and your retirement income can be something you don’t worry about—or, if you like, something that you actively do think about, and achieve success with under your own management.

However, poor financial decisions could really affect your quality of life during your retirement. This is why it is essential to get sound advice on pensions from a pensions IFA. They will recommend to you the best option for you, whether that’s an NPI pension, or Halifax, or Prudential, Scottish Equitable, Standard Life… or something else entirely.

You can get in touch with Pensionlite now via our quick and easy-to-use form to request a free, no obligation and independent pension and investment review.