At Cotswold Independent Financial Services, as small business owners ourselves we empathise with those who are self-employed. They are frequently working excessive hours and doing their very best to support themselves, their employees and their families and at the same time they are mindful they may not have what is required in the future to support them.

Royal London and Aviva commission a report entitled “Solving the under-saving problem among the self-employed”. An extract of the report shows “the latest DWP figures suggest that barely 1 in 7 self-employed people put any money into a pension last year, and that this proportion has been falling steadily for many years. Whilst some self-employed people may be planning to fund their retirement by selling their business, and others may have other assets such as property or investments, it is clear that many self-employed people face a bleak retirement unless action is taken.”

These figures show why we are particularly keen to work with those who are not just choosing control over their careers short term by being self-employed, but they want help planning into the longer term to enjoy the fruits of their labour.

The report shows that there are “There are 4.8 million self-employed individuals in the UK. This is equivalent to 15% of the UK workforce.” There are some interesting insights into the composition of the self-employed. Only 30% are female and the modal age of a self-employed worker is 46, compared to 29 for an employed worker.” Therefore, with an older average age it is important to consider pension planning and also to factor in previous pensions which may have been accrued prior to self-employment. Read the full report findings.

If you are self employed and want to take control of your financial future the please get in touch for a no obligation initial discussion.

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