UK is last in self-employed pensions league

BRITAIN has come bottom for retirement provision in a survey of the self-employed in 15 countries around the world.

The study by financial services giant Aegon revealed that a staggering 52 per cent of self-employed people in the UK do not have a retirement plan.

The research found that just 44 per cent of the self-employed in Britain have made concrete plans for their retirement, which compares to an average of 60 per cent globally.

More than half – 52 per cent – of those in the UK say they expect they will still be working after the age of 65. Just 20 per cent are confident they will be comfortable in retirement.

Cambridge Satchel Company boss Julie Deane, who was tasked by David Cameron in 2015 with producing an independent review into the self-employed, warned in her report that such workers need more flexible financial instruments.

She pointed out that they often find it much more difficult to secure mortgages, insurance and pension coverage than employees.

Pension consolidation service PensionBee has teamed up with the small business network Enterprise Nation to develop retirement plans tailored to the selfemployed.

Enterprise Nation’s 70,000 members can now combine pensions from previous employments or start a new one.