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By David Porter, Financial Planning Consultant

THE number of people running their own businesses has soared since the financial crisis of 2007/8, with a significant number being set up by people aged over 50, but despite these new businesses being formed an unhealthy number of self-employed workers in the UK do not currently save into a pension.

New research [1] has highlighted that self-employed workers are heading towards a potential pension saving crisis. The nationwide study found that 43% of those working for themselves admit they do not have a pension, compared to just 4% of those in employment. A key reason is that 36% of the self-employed say they cannot afford to save for retirement.

Less comfortable retirement

Self-employed workers now make up 15.1% of the UK workforce, with more than 4.8 million people working for themselves [2], but the research found they are heading for a less comfortable retirement, with many not planning to stop work.

Around one in three said they will be relying entirely on the State Pension, while 28% will be reliant on their business to provide the income they need.

Day-to-day emergencies

Self-employed workers are savers, but the research found that they are more focused on day-to-day emergencies than longer term planning - two thirds (64%) of the self-employed save to build up a safety net in case of an emergency, in comparison with 57% of those in employment.

Just one in ten self-employed people see a financial adviser regularly, despite having potentially more complex financial circumstances than someone in employment.

Funding a comfortable retirement

Wherever you sit in your retirement journey, we’re here to support you. Whether it’s starting a pension, saving more into your plan or to help with your options for retirement, please get in touch. Call David Porter on 01756 620000 or email david.porter@armstrongwatson.co.uk

Source data

[1] Consumer Intelligence conducted an independent online survey for Prudential between 20–21 June 2018 among 1,178 UK adults

[2] https://www.ons.gov.uk/employmentandlabourmarket/peopleinwork/employment.

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