Self-employed workers could boost their retirement resilience by paying into their partner’s pension, Hargreaves Lansdown has said, after its analysis raised concerns over the current level of pension saving amongst the self-employed.

According to the latest data from the Hargreaves Lansdown Savings and Resilience Barometer, self-employed led households scored 53/100 for their financial resilience compared to 67/100 among employee-led households.

However, the firm clarified that the picture is “a bit more nuanced than this”, as households where the self-employed worker is the secondary earner are less likely to be financially vulnerable than one where the primary earner is self-employed.

According to the research, almost one-third of households the employed person is the primary earner.

And there are steps households can take to help improve their overall retirement resilience, as HL suggested that, in households where one partner has used up their annual allowances, they could boost their self-employed partner’s retirement resilience by contributing to a pension or a lifetime ISA (LISA) on their behalf.

Hargreaves Lansdown head of retirement analysis, Helen Morrissey, stated: “The financial resilience of the self-employed is much lower than that of their employed counterparts and this is largely due to the fact they do not enjoy the range of employee benefits such as workplace pensions that many workers take for granted.

“Added to this, self-employed people need to take a more flexible approach to their long-term finances and tying their money up in a pension until they are aged 55 (rising to 57 in 2028) just doesn’t work for many of them.

“If you are the employed spouse or partner of a self-employed person, or you are self-employed and have extra cash – the report highlighted 62 per cent of self-employed households have adequate liquid assets set aside – you can significantly boost your loved one’s retirement prospects by contributing to a pension or Lifetime ISA on their behalf,” explained Hargreaves Lansdown head of retirement analysis, Helen Morrissey.

“With a LISA you can contribute up to £4,000 per year in total and receive a 25 per cent government bonus. This works in a similar way to basic rate tax relief on a pension with the ability to access those savings early in time of need subject to a 25 per cent penalty.

“If you are going down the pensions route, then you can contribute to a loved one’s pension as long as total contributions do not exceed their annual allowance which is the lowest of their annual earnings or £60,000 per year. This could be a good route if you have used up your own allowances and have some money spare to put away.

“Helping your partner build their retirement wealth doesn’t just help them to build up their own retirement income, it will also bolster your long-term retirement resilience as a couple.”

Hargreaves Lansdown also previously called for the government to allow people to open LISAs and receive bonuses on contributions until the age of 55, suggesting that this could allow “many more people” to start planning for retirement.

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