You should seek financial advice before deciding how much to invest.
If you earn under £245,000 a year (tax year 2009/10) you can pay in 100% of your salary and you'd receive tax relief on every penny. Remember, if your employer is making payments, this would also be included. You can choose to make regular monthly payments or one off payments, it's up to you.
If you're lucky enough to earn over £245,000, and in a position to pay in more than 100% of your earnings, you won't get tax relief on any payment over the £245,000 limit. You'd actually pay tax on these payments. Standard Life does not accept payments that are not eligible for tax relief.
The £245,000 limit applies to all pension plans that you are making payments into. It also includes employer and third party payments, but excludes transfer payments.
Tax and legislation are likely to change in the future. The information given here is based on our current understanding of law and HM Revenue & Customs practice. Tax relief may alter and its value depends on your financial circumstances.
The earlier you start to save the better. It can make quite a difference saving as soon as you can, however, the value of your investment is not guaranteed. It depends on the value of the underlying assets in fund, and these can go down as well as up.
Take a look at our retirement planner to help you work out how much you need to save.
Launch Retirement Planner 
