Pension providers such as Aviva, LV and Zurich will be teaming up with employers like Hermes and Uber to find solutions for the self-employed savings problem.
These companies will be present at a two-day event starting today (26 March) in London, which will be exploring ways that technology could make it easier for the self-employed to save for retirement.
The event is organised by the Department for Work & Pensions (DWP), HM Treasury and the Association of British Insurers (ABI).
According to data published by the DWP recently, only 16 per cent of self-employed are currently saving into a pension through auto-enrolment.
The government and regulator have been criticised for failing to come up with a joint approach to reforming the pension system for these group of workers.
At the event, teams will have the challenge of developing practical solutions and interventions, focusing on the role technology and developments such as the pensions dashboard and open banking could play in helping the self-employed save for retirement.
According to Yvonne Braun, director of policy, long-term savings and protection at the ABI, "people of all sorts of ages, skill levels, backgrounds and professions work for themselves – there is no typical self-employed person".
She said: "The one thing they do all have in common though is the need to prepare for their retirement and ensure they have a way to pay for it.
"Auto-enrolment has brought thousands more workers into pension saving and I am excited to see what this week’s event can come up with to offer similar security to the self-employed."
Jonathan Lima-Matthews, senior policy adviser at Association for Independent Professionals and the self-employed (IPSE), which will also be attending the event, said: "Low pension uptake is a ticking time bomb and a major concern for IPSE, especially as our most recent survey showed 16 per cent of self-employed people were not saving for later life at all.
"IPSE strongly believes that tech-based solutions can help spread the word about the benefits of saving for life, and will encourage new and improved products which suit the specific needs of the growing self-employed population."
maria.espadinha@ft.com
