Self-employed and not currently paying into a pension?

If you’re self-employed through a Limited Company or Partnership, we can’t accept contributions directly from your company.

If you’re self-employed, you’ll be eligible for the State Pension as long as you’ve paid at least ten years of National Insurance (NI) contributions. To get the full State Pension you'll need to have paid NI contributions for at least 35 years.

The maximum State Pension is £221.20 per week (tax year 2024/25). That’s £10,600.20 a year, which might not cover all your living expenses. For comparison, a recent survey by Which found that retired households with two people spend just under £2,340 a month / around £28,000 a year on average.

A pension is a good way of building up a pot of money to live on when you may no longer work. If you can wait until you’re at least 55 (rising to 57 from 2028) to access your savings and you’re comfortable making your own decisions, a personal pension might work for you.

It may cheaper for you to pay into an existing pension, if you have one.

If you want the option to withdraw your money before you’re 55 (rising to 57 from 2028), an ISA may be a better option.

Our Personal Pension may be right for you if:

• You are self-employed.
• You need flexibility.
• You are looking to consolidate your pension pot.
• You are happy to choose from a small range of funds based on your attitude to risk or a default investment option if you don't want to select your investments.

Our Personal Pension may not be right for you if:

• You already have an existing pension, which satisfies your retirement goals.
• You have a limited company and want to contribute from your business.
• You are looking to invest in multiple funds or a wide choice of investment funds, specific equities or property funds.

Most people can pay up to £60,000 per year in pensions without incurring a tax charge. This is called your Annual Allowance. This rule depends on your total annual income. You can find out more about the tax rules for pensions here.

It’s important to save for retirement, so whilst you don't have to regularly pay money into your Personal Pension, it's a good idea to do so.

With our Personal Pension you can:

• Set up regular payments
• Pay in one-off lump sums
• Start, stop or amend your regular payments to suit your needs.

Our Personal Pension is set up for you to contribute into. Providing the contribution remains below the annual allowance, a third party can also contribute to your pension. 

Find out more about the different types of pensions

Yes, we accept transfers into a Legal & General Personal Pension. We can also help you trace any old pensions that you need to find. When you transfer your pension, the current provider will sell your investments and send us the proceeds, which we will invest in your chosen fund with us. We cannot take control of your existing investments.

Your current pension provider may apply exit penalties if you close your pension pot. You could also forfeit some other benefits or guarantees if you decide to transfer, so it’s best to check the terms of your existing pension first.

There are also some types of pension we can't consolidate, such as 'final salary' plans, With Profits plans and those with Guaranteed Annuity Rates or Guaranteed Minimum Benefits.

If you're unsure if a pension is right for you, get in touch with a financial adviser or find one through Unbiased.

We offer a range of ready-made funds spanning five different risk profiles. All you need to do is select the level of risk you’re willing to take and we do the rest, spreading the money you’ve chosen to invest in the fund across different investments. These can include a combination of markets, industries and asset types. This means you can confidently make your own decisions without having to worry about the underlying investments yourself.

If you do not want to make your own investment choice, we provide a default investment option. This option automatically changes investment funds over time, as you get closer to your selected retirement date.

You can find the relevant investment information on our site and in each fund’s factsheet or Key Investor Information document.

You have the right to change your mind within 30 days of your pension being set up. This cancellation date will be shown in your welcome email.

To cancel, please log in to your online account and send us a secure message. You’ll get your money back and won’t have to pay any charges. However, the amount you get back may be less than you invested if the value of the fund has decreased. If you don’t cancel within 30 days, you can still stop paying money in. Your current savings will remain invested and charges will apply.

To find out more about opting out of your pension, read our article ‘Can I opt out of my pension?’.

Yes, you can transfer your pension to another company. Please speak to your new pension provider so you can follow their process.