Ask a FINANCIAL ADVISER

Money worries? Our team of experts is here to help

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If you're super savvy about finance, congratulations, but you're in the minority. An HSBC survey reveals 69% of women don't feel confident about investing money, while research from pension provider Legal & General has shown that women are 33% more likely than men to say they don't understand how their pension works.

It's why actor Emilia Fox, 51, is fronting a new campaign with My Pension Expert to encourage more women to be 'thrifty at 50'. 'I know how easy it is to focus on the day-to-day and put off big decisions,' she says. 'It would be beneficial to treat financial wellbeing with the same emphasis we give to family, careers or health.'

With this in mind, we put some of your questions to a team of financial experts.

I've been made redundant - should I pay off my mortgage or invest in my pension?

Sarah Coles If you aren't confident that another job is around the corner, you actually need to focus more on the short term. This means paying off expensive short-term debt, and cutting your spending. The key is making sure that you have the income you need until you are back in work.

Once you have found a new job, you can start thinking about the longer term. Use a pension calculator to check if you're on track for retirement. If you have a shortfall, consider using the payment to beef it up. If you have a hefty mortgage, which has weighed heavily on your finances, you might want to pay it down, although check that there aren't any penalties for doing this. Some people will do a bit of both.

Thinking more broadly, if you'd like to retire early in the future, what's your biggest barrier to doing so? Will you be repaying your mortgage much later than you'd like, or is your pension much smaller than you need? This will help you to focus the money where it's most valuable to you.