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).

Normal pensions don’t give you a large choice of investments but a SIPP generally has a range of options. A SIPP gives you full power over how your pension fund is managed. There is a risk that you could mismanage your pension but there is also a possibility for greater performance.

A lot of people choose to seek the guidance of an experienced Independent Financial Adviser (IFA) to manage their SIPPs. Visit IFA sites that have free advice. An example of a site like this is www.financialadvice.co.uk.

One advantage of SIPPs is that they allow you to combine a number of other pensions into one easily managed plan. The main advantage is that you have a large range of investment options though.

The following things can be invested with a SIPP: property funds, stock-market funds, individual shares, unquoted shares, government bonds, company bonds, options, futures, Reits, cash, and commercial 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 don’t typically charge set-up fees, however, they may have other charges so find one that suits your specific needs at the lowest cost.

Your SIPP provider must be authorised by the Financial Services Authority. 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.