Quote Originally Posted by j90rdn View Post
Depending on your financial position, most people don't realise that you'll be paying 60% tax for earnings between £100k and £125k, as you loose £1 of your personal tax relief for every £2 over £100k. Using a pension deducted at source to bring down your taxable income really helps if your yearly income falls into this bracket.
Yea it's pretty much essential in that income bracket I think. 62% saving if you're able to contribute to your workplace pension via salary sacrifice and avoid NI too. Considerably more if you've got young children due to the support that stops at £100k taxable income, meaning potentially greater than 100% saving (i.e. folk can actually end up with more money in their pocket today as a result of contributing more to their pension for the future - big win!).

Quote Originally Posted by j90rdn View Post
Your level of risk really depends on your appetite for risk (obvious) but also your current age, and projected age of retirement. The idea being the fund(s) you invest in should become less risky the closer you get to retirement.
Kind of debateable. It is the traditional way and gears you up for buying an annuity, but if you don't intend to buy an annuity and are keeping your funds invested to keep generating returns throughout your retirement then this may not be a winning strategy. Of course, crystal ball stuff really, who knows what will happen!