Pension Advice

[engineer21]

Ok guys new to the forums here but seems like theres a fair bit of knowledge around so thought id ask for some advice.

Currently iam 24 work offshore with good wage (40+k), iam payed gross and only pay tax when in the uk for more than 180days per year i also dont pay National Insurance (it is optional btw). not married no house (yet)

however i have no Pension yet and think i should have one so where the hell do i start?? how much do you normally put away each month for a pension? i have an appoiment with RBS soon regarding this but realise they will only try too sell me there products!!
would it be worth me buying my NICs? i.e will state pension be worth anything when i retire??

All advice appricated

Thanks

[ringram]

SIPP is a good plan, you can get 20% tax back on a £2880 contribution even if you arnt a UK tax payer.

Also re state pension. Its around £90 if you have 30 years contributions or £58 or so if you have no contribution history. So depending on what the extra few quid a week are worth to you and how good your pension savings are there may be no point topping it up.

ISA's can also be good and easier to use if you need to. Basically you want a tax free wrapper of some sort. You might need to check what the eligibility is for the SIPP and ISA if you are not a UK resident or tax payer..

[Jespin]

You won't get tax relief on any contributions you make into a UK pension whilst you are a non-resident. In practice, you can still contribute to a UK pension but I would think you would struggle to find a company who is willing to take you on.

[ringram]

Yeah might depend on your status.
Otherwise check the back pages of the economist etc for offshore tax advisers etc.

[engineer21]

Iam a UK Resident just under the seafarers tax exemptions there are differnt tax rules if employed onboard a a ship and ofcourse working 5 weeks on 5 weeks off i usally spend more than 6mnths away from home anyway.

cheers for advice its all welcome