A new study has warned that many self-employed workers, contractors and freelancers in the UK could be heading towards a retirement saving crisis.

Insurance company Prudential spoke to more than 1,200 self-employed people across the country and found that nearly half (43 per cent) have no pension at all, compared to just four per cent of employed workers who said they had no savings.

The study also found that:

• 36 per cent of the self-employed say they cannot afford to save for retirement
• 31 per cent say they will be relying entirely on the state pension to fund their retirement
• 28 per cent will be reliant on their business to provide the income they need

The analysis also revealed that self-employed workers are more likely to save generally, if not for a pension, in order to create a safety net for themselves (64 per cent save in comparison to 57 per cent of those in employment).

Worryingly, only one in 10 self-employed workers see a financial adviser regularly, despite one in five (19 per cent) reporting that they are not confident with money and financial matters.

The Association of Independent Professionals and the Self-Employed (IPSE) said the recent findings mirrored it’s own recent research on pension savings amongst self-employed workers and is calling for more action to help workers save.

If you wish to seek specialist advice on contractor pensions, we can recommend you to a specialist firm of Independent Financial Advisers in order to maximise the potential tax breaks.

We have developed a close relationship with M & N Insurance so that you can draw on their experience and expertise to meet all of your pension requirements.

Please contact Jeremy on jeremy@cmeasy.co.uk for further details. You may receive preferential rates if you are a client of Cogent.