Planning your pension

Sue Ward, TUC/Kogan Page, TUC Publications, Congress House, Great Russell Street, London WC1B 3LS, 196 pages, paperback, £8.99

Pensions journalist and former TUC pensions officer Sue Ward has written an easy-to-read guide to state, occupational and private pensions. Following a brief explanation of the state system, the main chapters of the book focus on how final salary and money purchase occupational pension schemes work. These chapters are broken down into short sections looking at the main benefits normally provided by an occupational pension and at the end of each section Ward highlights what members should be looking for in a good scheme.

The book sets out the basic rights and entitlements of members faced by changes in their workplace scheme as a result of takeovers and mergers or decisions by employers to close existing schemes. It also explains how to get information about your workplace pension and what options are open to members if something goes wrong.