A GROUP which offers free advice about pensions will continue to run the service after receiving a £35,000 grant.

The Pakistan Pendle Welfare Association, based in Market Square, Nelson, has been running the pension education scheme since January 2006.

The group roll out training to pension information officers, who then run workshops and offer advice to harder-to-reach groups such as the self-employed and home workers, to help them make better plans for their retirement.

The latest investment from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) will allow them to run a further 15 workshops from now until March 2009.

Touqir Khan, from the scheme, said: "Planning for retirement is an increasingly important issue that not enough people in Pendle are familiar with.

"We aim to highlight the urgency of adequate preparation, educate individuals about the choices they have and raise their financial literacy levels to ensure they are comfortable when making any relevant decisions.

"To date, we have already worked with over 1300 local beneficiaries and are delighted that our efforts have been recognised by DWP affording us the opportunity to continue this work for a further 12 months."

The scheme is one of 26 across the UK to share this year's £1.47m Pension Education Fund sponsored by the DWP.

Pension Reform Minister Mike O'Brien said: "The Pension Education Fund is about trying to reach people who perhaps have never thought about pensions or what they might do when they retire.

"The scheme is a useful way to give people the information they need to make decisions about their future.

"The workplace is an ideal place to do this. Often someone's first contact with pensions is through their employer's scheme and research shows that workers trust their employers to provide accurate information about their pensions.

"I am pleased we have been able to continue to fund the association's work to the end of next March."