Modern pensions are “Defined Contributions” which means “What you get back - is directly proportional to what you paid in”.
Older pensions (prior to the Credit Crunch for most people) were “Defined Benefits” which guaranteed you an index-linked return based (usually) on the final salary of the job you retired from… The very best of such pensions - keep up with rises in that “Old Job’s Salary” even if you left some years ago, which makes them the “Gold Plated” pensions one hears of, but of course - are as hard to have and hold as Gold itself, as has been the case since the Credit Crunch turned over the pensions industry as part of the Banking Bailout…
There was another Bailout in recent weeks - also for Pension Funds, because it turned out that Pension Funds had been borrowing money to purchase very low-yield Government Bonds, which have been falling sharply in price recently, due to interest rate hikes…
“Borrowing to Buy a Risk Investment” - is dangerous of course, because if you buy a ratio of say, 20 to 1 (pay down 5% of the cost, borrow the remaining 95%)
then if that investment then drops say, TEN percent - then you’ve actually lost your entire investment of 5% and that amount again as well…
This is a “Derivative” investment of course, like Futures which work exactly the same way, and yes - you can buy these bonds on the futures market as well, geared and high-risk in exactly the same mechanic.
The best pensions one can get at this time (imo) are SIPPS where you save up your own money, put some by, and trickle-buy investments over a long period, managing the fund yourself so you can avoid investments you find “unethical”, don’t pay any management fees, nor an annual charge of 1-2% of your pot, which of course increases as your pot increases over time… Not many people will be financially disciplined enough to run such a SIPP however, with mis-management of one’s own pot - leading to huge tax bills if one is not careful, as some people try to dip into that pot as a “slush fund” over the years, which with tax already claimed back on it - you are NOT ALLOWED TO DO without paying back that tax…
The idea is you “Buy it, stash it, forget it” for however many years it will be to your retirement.
Sensible people also tend to stuff their SIPPs with “Safer” shares that return decent dividends, such as
“Pick your favourite Supermarket”
“Pick your favourite Bank”
“Pick your favourite Energy Firm”
being the top three types of share you are likely to insert into your SIPP.
You might have (for example) a SIPP containing the following:
1/12th in Tesco shares
1/12th in Barclays Bank shares
1/12th in British Petroleum shares
1/12th in GlaxoSmithklein shares
1/12th in Diageo shares
1/12th in Unilever shares
1/12th in Rio Tinto shares
1/12th in Legal and General shares
1/12th in Taylor Wimpey shares
1/12th in SSE shares
1/12th in BT shares
1/12th in Severn Trent Water
(Dislaimer - This is NOT a “Tip Sheet”, I don’t hold any of these shares at present, although I’ve held some of them in the past - and know them to be “good dividend payers” over a long term - just right to pick up, put into a SIPP, and sit on for years and years…)
The way a SIPP can work is you stick only those shares in it that are from different sectors of the market, thus “speading your risk”.
You avoid putting in those sectors that you might object to morally or avoid those you think are about to collapse in price…
For example, you might not want to invest in Tobacco, Pharmacuticals, Energy, or Defence Contractor firms - due to moral objection on your part.
Don’t think you need to buy something that will “immediately rise in price” - that’s a fool’s way to invest. From experience, 23 out of 24 shares I ever purchased - dropped 5% or more before they rose more than 5%… 22 years is a long enough time for all 24 picks (should you have that many) to come right of course, which fits in with how many years you’re looking at running a pension for.
Just tuck something away that has a nice dividend payout one, two, or four times per year that you then don’t have to waste money on “managing” since you don’t intend to do anything with it for 22 years - right? You are buying these shares with cash savings, and not “speculating” on them by dealing only in “part-paid” issues such as new privatizations. It won’t matter if they drop 5% immediately, because you’re able to hold onto them indefinitely, and they still pay the dividends during that time - providing they don’t go bust outright, of course… I’d rate the risk of such a disaster happening - around the 1% level per year… We all remember the Marconis, PollyPeck, TeleWest, and Enron-style collapses over the past years…
Personally, I don’t like “Tech” right now, as I reckon it is due for a serious fall. Morally, I might object to “Big Pharma” too…
Also, avoid shares like Vodaphone which pay a crappy dividend! “Always Check the Yield before you buy” like we say “Always read the label”…
At the end of that time, you cash in the lot, or continue to live off the dividends. In a SIPP you don’t get any tax concessions unless you plough dividends back in to purchase extra shares (as far as I know) but I have not dabbled in anything of my own since I left Royal Mail with my pension plan there as “Paid Up” over a decade ago.
Don’t take “Chasing Tax Concessions” too seriously btw, as the restrictions can sometimes stop you from selling individual shares in your plan when you really should. You only need the tax concessions imo - if you are interested in buying shares that have a poor dividend, and are absolutely sure you won’t ever need “early access” to the money for whatever reason. I prefer for myself to shun the tax concessions, which then gives me the power to clear out anytime I like… I remember once owning British and Commonwealth shares over 30 years ago which I sold for a £6k profit a week before they went bankrupt for example. I woudn’t have been able to do that - if there had been a “Tax penalty” for selling out before any such “pension plan” were due to mature - Right?
(I had just bought them on the open market, and sold them after they rose in price - no restrictions)
It always makes me laugh when so many investors seem to think they simply must have some of their investments in “Cash” or “Bonds” - with both those investments looking very poorly right now - due to rising inflation.
Wouldn’t it make more sense to buy shares that are businesses in things that have already gone up in price instead?
…Just saying…
Aim to buy the Best Dividend Payer (that is not on the verge of going ■■■■-up) in each sector you’re interested in - and you’ll do fine.
No need for expensive “Financial Advisors” or “Pension Mangers” - you’re effectively employing yourself part-time to do just that instead!
You only need a “private client” Stockbroker to open an account with, to buy your shares through, and have them either sit on in their “nominee” account, which is the way most people do stocks and shares these days, as it again - gives you the ability to flog what you want to with a “phone call” or even an online account, rather than taking bits of paper into a high street bank to sell, like we used to back in the day of the “Privatizations”…
EDIT:
Pick a private client stockbroker you can actually walk into the door of!
If you try and open an “online account” with a firm that has no brick-and-mortar address, you risk them being a con outfit, and you might never see your money again!
My old broker used to be a shop in Crowborough for example, but it is up to you to find your own, depending where you live of course…
Of the online-only variety, I’d stick with one of long standing (20 years plus!) that has built up a good reputation over that time.
Don’t just do a web-search for a “reputable broker” however, or you might be prompted with adverts for firms like FTX which has just gone ■■■■-up, or worse - some other still-operating con outfit touting things like “Binary Options”, or “Spead Betting” and the like…
(The “Con” is that they call you to tell you the market “moved the wrong way today, and you’ve lost all your money by being stopped-out” - when the market in question DID dip down, but recovered by the end of the day, meaning if you had that investment in full, you wouldn’t have been selling it automatically at the very bottom of that “dip” - right?) Any firm that insists you have a “Controlled Risk Stop Loss Order” in the market - is telling you “The amount of money you have on your account - is what we’ll accept you can lose today - and if the market doesn’t immediately move your way - chances are you WILL lose that maximum amount…” (Remember - 23 out of 24 investments in my experience go against you before they DO go your way!)
I was a late starter too, which is how I know you should be saving about 20% of your income. (I still haven’t done a will either 
) Without wishing to sound patronising, you’ve done well to turn things around for yourself. A simple, happy life can be harder to achieve than it sounds.