If you’re self employed there are flexible pension arrangements to meet your requirements.

Here are a few things to think about if you are self employed:

1. Will the state provide my pension?If you’re paying National Insurance you are probably building up entitlement to basic state pension but you will not qualify for the State Second Pension.
2. Do I need to think about building additional pension investments?
   The basic state pension alone may only provide you with the means to have a simple lifestyle in retirement. You may qualify for other benefits but this still may not be enough and may affect your retirement plans. Use our pensions information to find out more about your options.
3. How much pension investments will I need?
   Work out how much pension income you could need in retirement as well as how much your pensions investments may provide with our pension calculator.
4. What pension investments options are there for the self employed?
   There are a number of options available including Individual Stakeholder Pensions, Individual Personal Pensions and for more experienced investors Self Invested Personal Pensions. With each of these pension types you build up a pension fund that you convert into an income when you retire. As an investment, the value of your fund can go down as well as up. Read the information in ‘Your pension choices’ on the right to find out more or contact your Financial Adviser.
5. Can I spend the fund if I don’t have any work for a while?
   You cannot treat your pension fund like a savings account. Once you put the money in a pension you won’t be able to get the benefits until you reach your agreed retirement age.
6. So can I use any other savings for my retirement income?
   You can use your savings and investments to draw an income in retirement. To find out more about saving and investing read our information on the right.

What next?
If you’re ready to find out more about what to do if you are self employed,  you can either follow the next link at the bottom of the page, or, if you prefer you can use the links to information and tools on the right.