The economy is in ruins and it might be just the lesson some of us need to start preparing our finances for the future. One of the ways that UK residents can save for the future is by getting a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP).

A big difference with a SIPP and other pensions is that they are not limited to your choice of investments. With a SIPP, you will have complete control of your pension fund. There is also the risk that you might end up mismanging your SIPP but the higher performance possibility often outweighs this disadvantage.

Many people will choose to seek an experienced financial planner to manage their SIPP. Take a look around and find a site with free IFA advice. An example of a site like this is www.financialadvice.co.uk.

An advantage of a SIPP is that you can combine other pensions into one place. The main advantage is that you have a large range of investment options though.

The following can be invested in your SIPP: government bonds, company bonds, options, futures, Reits, cash, property funds, stock-market funds, individual shares, unquoted shares, and commerical property.

There are a number of SIPP providers in the United Kingdom including Hangreaves Lansdown, Fidelity Fund Network, Killil, James Hay, and thousands of IFAs and wealth management companies. They shouldn’t charge set-up fees but they could have other charges so make sure to look into it and find one that works best for you.

The Financial Services Authority must authorize your SIPP Provider. For more information about the FSA’s regulations regarding SIPPs visit www.fsa.gov.uk/sipps or www.sipps.org.uk.

Some SIPP providers will make it seem like there are no disadavantges to their product but there is risk involved and that should be addressed up front. If your Self-Invested Personal Pension is managed by someone that knows what he or she is doing then it could be a very lucrative financial plan for the future.