Urgent plea issued to Andy Burnham as millions of workers risk £70k pension losses

Pension experts have issued an urgent plea to Andy Burnham for self-employed pension reform ahead of the Autumn Budget. Retirement platform PensionBee wants auto-enrolment eligibility extended to the self-employed so they are better prepared for the future. Self-employed workers who want to save for retirement must arrange their own personal pension, in contrast to most employees, who are automatically enrolled in a workplace pension by their employer. The savings disparity is stark. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies in May, just 20% of self-employed workers earning over £10,000 contribute to a private pension, compared with over 80% among employees.

PensionBee said the impact of not contributing over a 30-year career was worth around £70,000 in retirement savings, if they earned £25,000. It wants pension prompts to be embedded into the Self Assessment tax return to encourage pension savings. Lisa Picardo, chief business officer UK at PensionBee, said the barriers to a pension were a “structural disadvantage” rather than a “lack of willingness to save, or a lack of desire for a good retirement outcome”.

She said: “Every survey in this report finds the opposite: self-employed workers engage with pensions at higher rates than most people assume, and the public, across every income band and age group, backs reform. But self-employed workers still are not saving enough.

“This is a structural problem, and a structural fix is needed. This report sets out what we found, who it affects, and what needs to change. I hope it gives the Pensions Commission, the Government and the wider industry the evidence and the urgency to keep pushing for reform.”

Several key bodies have also called for change. The Institute for Fiscal Studies proposed in May 2026 that self-employed people should be required to make an active choice about pension contributions at the point of filing a Self Assessment tax return.

In May, the Government’s Pensions Commission interim report stated that only 4% of the 2.4million people who rely solely on self-employment income were saving into a pension. On the back of this, Torsten Bell, the pensions minister, committed to outlining changes to the private pensions system.

The final report is expected to recommend an increase in workplace contributions and moves to include self-employed workers. Labour’s proposal for self-employed workers is expected to differ from the existing auto-enrolment schemes for employees. One potential option is to seek contributions through tax returns, the FT reports.

Chancellor John Healey will present the Budget on October 28. The Government has already announced major pension reform, with an adjustment to the Triple Lock from April 2030 to fund a national care service.