How do I get a pension when I am self-employed?
We set your pension contributions against your profits and your tax band, year by year.
We set your pension contributions against your profits and your tax band, year by year.
Open a personal pension, or join Nest, which takes self-employed members. No employer pays in, so every contribution comes from you, and it attracts tax relief at your marginal rate up to the £60,000 annual allowance or your earnings for the year, whichever is lower.
The advisers for this subject: Sunny Bharj and Tony Springer
gov.uk and the HMRC Pensions Tax Manual, checked 23 September 2026. 2026/27 rules.
Carry forward needs you to have been a member of a registered pension scheme in each earlier year you want to use.
A personal pension adds basic rate relief to what you pay in, so £80 from you becomes £100 in the pension. Higher and additional rate relief is claimed through your self assessment return.
A pension contribution attracts tax relief at your marginal rate, so £100 in a pension costs a higher-rate taxpayer £60.
You can, and 25% normally comes out free of tax. Taking taxable income cuts what you can pay back in to £10,000 a year.
Read the answer →By law only for safeguarded benefits worth more than £30,000, such as a final salary pension. Other pensions can be moved without it.
Read the answer →A fee or a percentage of the amount invested or transferred. Ask for the charge in pounds before you proceed.
Read the answer →£100 in a pension costs a higher-rate taxpayer £60.
Yes. Nest takes self-employed members on their own. Every member pays 1.8% of each contribution and 0.3% a year of the pot.
Tax relief on your own contributions is limited to your earnings for that year. You can still pay into a pension and get tax relief, up to a modest annual amount, even with no earned income at all.
A director can have the company pay in as well, and employer and personal contributions count together towards the £60,000 annual allowance. Can my company pay into my pension?
Yes. It builds up through your National Insurance record, and the amount you get depends on that record.
Bring your last two years of accounts or tax returns to the first conversation.
Independent Financial Adviser
Independent Financial Adviser
Your first call is with an Account Manager and is at no cost to you. Tell us what is on your mind: a pension you have lost track of, a fixed rate ending, a will you keep meaning to write.