Self-employed and no pension. You need to start saving now

Paul MacKenzie-Cummins is 51 and has not saved a penny into a pension. He didn’t opt into a workplace pension scheme in the early stages of his career and, when he went freelance in 2006, saving for retirement was not a priority.

“In my twenties and thirties, I didn’t care about a pension. I had 40 or 50 years until retirement and wanted to keep money in my bank account, get a house and enjoy life,” said MacKenzie-Cummins, from Crowthorne in Berkshire. “Then I went freelance and committing money to a pension while my income levels were up and down wasn’t a priority.”

MacKenzie-Cummins is not alone. There are 4.25 million self-employed people in the UK, according to the latest figures from the Office for