THE HI-TECH INVESTOR: All you need to know about stakeholder pensions

THE Government is starting to clarify its proposals for stakeholder pensions, the new, low-cost retirement savings plans it hopes to introduce in 2001. But for those planning their retirement, the problem is whether to invest in a personal pension now or wait for a cheaper deal.

Two websites offer good overviews of the issues. Mercury Asset Management has a dedicated site on stakeholders with links to the key government stakeholder proposals.

Legal & General has made the clearest commitment of any insurer that customers taking out a policy now won't lose out if they want to transfer into a stakeholder plan. It has a detailed section on the proposed scheme with some clear question and answer pages. It also has a graph showing the cost of putting off pension planning - a sobering sight for those who are not paying into a pension.

n www.mam.com; www.landg.com

Pick and mix

A new internet-based investment supermarket has been launched, giving investors the chance to buy stock market funds, bonds and pensions at low-cost online. InternetIFA will operate a discount broking service, rebating all the initial commission it receives back to clients, and hopes to make a profit on annual renewal commission. If you know what you want to buy (for example, a stock market ISA savings plan) you can order forms over the net and send them directly to the relevant fund manager.

n www.internetifa.com

Motor on

Iron Trades insurance has laun-ched the latest motor cover site. It offers quotes for its policies online and claims customers won't have to deal with a call centre because the site is comprehensive. It is well laid out, with information boxes at every stage, and you can click and buy online. Policies are charged on a monthly basis so the truly keen can keep searching for more competitive quotes.

n www.ironsure.com

Promising remortgages

Promise, the mortgage offshoot of life insurer Winterthur Life UK, is offering the whole remortgage process online. Anyone who wants a new mortgage deal can get competitive quotes from the site. Mortgage deals are set up with big lenders and have no extra fees.

n www.ipromise.co.uk

n Stephen Pritchard can be contacted at: Hi-tech-investor@dial.pipex.com