Pension for self employed?

[MediocrePenguin]

Ahh that's it really I'm finding it all very confusing as 40 now but never had a pension before

I need to set up a simple personal pension ideally - does anyone have any recommendations?

I really need to as well,self employed and 47.
No idea how to though!?

I can’t help with advice re private pension, but just make sure you are paying Class 2 NI. You can do it voluntarily if you don’t meet the profit threshold. It gives you NI credits towards your state pension so it’s worth it unless you get credits some other way (eg if claiming child benefit and your youngest is under 12). You do it via your tax return each year. It’s about £3/week IIRC.

But def worth looking into making additional provision as no one knows what will happen to the state pension.

Start by reading a helpful guide like this one: www.moneysavingexpert.com/savings/discount-pensions/

Hargreaves lansdown

Hargreaves Landsdown as mentioned above. Good website, lots of information about SIPPs. Easy to follow advice and the fees are pretty reasonable. A tracker such as vanguard life strategy 80/20, 80% shares 20% bonds is a good type to look at.

Plus you’ll get tax relief on all money you invest. If you put £100 in you’ll get £25 added by the government

I'm 33 and self employed, I've also decided to sort a pension.

I'm overwhelmed but decided that in order to not put it off any more, for now, I'm going to use Nest, which is the workplace pension scheme. Apparently, self employed people can pay into it too. I read it on the money advice service.

www.nestpensions.org.uk/

I figured if it was good enough for the government workplace pension scheme, it's good enough for me. Especially just to get me started. I guess I could change at a later date if I wanted to? (No idea how these things work!)

Mine is with Aviva. You can speak to a financial planner for info and help with choosing one or research yourself and choose one!

@WildFlower2019 You wont be able to withdraw the money you've paid in until you are 55.

@userxx ahh ok thank you

To be honest I've only used Nest to fulfil the employer duties to provide a Workplace Pension. If I were you I would have a chat with an independent financial advisor, I'm sure they will be a much better option for you.

wildflower as user says, you can’t withdraw money from your pension unti 55 but you can transfer it to another provider.

@YorkieTheRabbit ahhh ok thank you. That's what I had assumed you'd be able to do.

Getting a really good IFA if you are self employed as you want to make sure that the pension really works for you.

If you do go down the financial advisor route, make sure you are fully aware of the costs involved. The initial charge for advice and set up of a pension will be several hundred pounds then there will be a percentage charge on your investment plus the fund house charge. This will mean your investments will need to work extra hard as your paying someone else to do what you can do yourself, you need to do some research into SIPPs and look at the best way to go.

Following with interest.

Hargreaves lansdowne, get a SIPP as mentioned above. They have lots of information on how to do it on their website.