Universal pension call as ‘gig workers’ struggle to save

09 July 2025

As more people reach later life with gaps in their pension savings, concerns are growing that today’s pension system doesn’t work for everyone.The issue is particularly pressing for those known as ‘gig workers’.

New research from PensionBee has revealed that over half (57%) of UK ‘gig economy’ workers who aren’t paying into a pension say they simply can’t afford to. 

This includes those who’ve spent their working lives self-employed, freelancing or juggling zero-hours contracts - groups often left out of traditional retirement savings models. For many, managing day-to-day finances takes priority over saving for the future, but the long-term consequences could be serious.

Affordability isn’t the only barrier

Beyond the financial pressures, confusion around pensions is another common issue. Nearly a third (29%) of people in flexible or non-traditional work said they find pensions too complicated or don’t know where to begin. Among unpaid carers — who often take time out of the workforce altogether — this figure rises to 32%.

The study also found that over a third (35%) of respondents felt excluded or unsupported by the pension system at some point in their career. This sense of being left out was particularly strong among gig workers and self-employed individuals. This highlights a potential mismatch between the traditional pension system and today’s more flexible working lives.

Calls grow for a more inclusive pension system

PensionBee’s findings have led to calls for a ‘universal pension’ system that would give every worker automatic access to a pension – regardless of their income level, hours worked, or employment status.

This idea has strong public support. Around seven in ten people surveyed agreed that pensions should be made available automatically to every worker, not just those in permanent jobs with employer contributions.

Lisa Picardo, chief business officer at PensionBee, said:

“Too many people working hard outside traditional employment structures are being left behind by the current pension system, and are facing the very real risk of a poor retirement outcome with heavy reliance on the State Pension.

“When more than half of gig workers say they simply can’t afford to save for retirement, this stops being a personal finance issue and becomes a systemic failure.”

Closing the self-employed pension gap

As the number of self-employed workers continues to rise, so too does concern over how few are saving for retirement. Despite nearly three-quarters of self-employed people saying they want to save, only around 18% currently contribute to a pension. That’s according to new research from Nest Insight, in partnership with Lloyds Banking Group.

Their research suggests that introducing a default savings journey – similar to how auto-enrolment works for employees – could be a way to tackle this issue. More than half of self-employed respondents said they would welcome the option to save into a pension through their banking platform, so long as they could opt out.

Nest Insight and Lloyds Banking Group have explored an ‘autosave’ concept, which would be embedded into banking and self-employment software software. Feedback from research participants suggests that this would need to allow people to save automatically, but with the ability to pause, adjust or set thresholds for contributions. 

Such a system could potentially enable people to make pension contributions by default, but with flexibility that reflects the unpredictable cash flow of self-employment and other forms of gig working. Such tools could play a big part in helping freelancers and the self-employed to make informed financial choices and secure reliable retirement income in later life.