For years I did what all self-employed people first do when confronted with setting up a pension: I thought about it, felt vaguely guilty, read into it a bit, felt quite confused, got distracted and quickly decided to ignore it and get on with actual work.
And to be fair, there are lots of reasons to put it off. In the freelance world cash flow is unpredictable and the whole thing feels quite complex. I had no idea where to start and crucially it didn't feel that urgent either; retirement felt a long, long way off.
I kicked that can down the road.
Why freelancers have a pension problem
I love being self-employed, but one big advantage to being employed is pensions — someone else sets it up, contributes to it on your behalf, and enrols you automatically. You might never think about it at all. When you're freelance, none of that happens.
Martin Lewis puts it simply and I think he's right: getting anything into a pension is better than nothing. Don't wait until you have the perfect strategy, the ideal fund selection, or a spare month to research it properly. The cost of delay is real and it compounds in the wrong direction. If you haven't started yet, the best time is today. Open something, put something in, and sort out the details later.
More than anything it's just about getting the ball rolling.
SIPPs!? What the hell is a SIPP?
A SIPP is a Self Invested Personal Pension.
A pension is an investment that you can't touch until you reach retirement age. A SIPP is a pension where you need to make the investment decisions yourself. Which is both the freedom and the responsibility. It allows you to set it up in anyway you wish, but that also means you've got lots of decisions to make and only yourself to blame if it doesn't work out.
How I'm invested and why
For me there was a big issue with a SIPP. Morals.
Often the most lucrative investments are the morally dubious ones. Some funds claim to be ethical and aren't really - it's a minefield. Initially I put my entire SIPP into one fund I'd heard was a genuinely ethical choice, one that actually did what it said on the tin. The problem with that is you've got all your eggs in one basket, and you're at the mercy of whoever is in charge of that fund.
After some time properly rethinking the structure, here's where I landed. I'm in my early forties, which means I have around 25 years before I'd expect to draw on this. That's long enough to ride out downturns, which means I can afford to be predominantly in equities and keep things relatively simple. Equities are shares in companies - they're volatile short term but historically the best-performing asset over the long run. The catch is you need time to ride out the bad years, which in terms of age, I have. This is why starting early is good.
I also have a firm constraint: I'm not willing to invest in things I consider harmful. Not fossil fuels, not weapons, not tobacco. This isn't a financial decision, it's a can I sleep at night one. With a SIPP you are forced to face these questions, which a conventional pension removes you from confronting.
After lots of research, this is the structure I've landed on has five active holdings plus a small gold position and a cash buffer. Note - this is just what I've done, don't just copy this without looking into it yourself first! If you know of anything about these funds you think I should be aware of please let me know.
Core global equity — 40% — Sarasin Responsible Global Equity
The anchor. Sarasin has been doing ethical investing for over 25 years - genuine negative screening, not a marketing label. One meaningful down year in nearly a decade, and even then the losses were mild compared to peers.
Ethical thematic equity — 15% — WHEB Sustainability Fund
The conviction position. WHEB invests in companies whose products directly address environmental and social challenges - water, clean energy, healthcare, resource efficiency. It's underperformed recently as clean tech fell out of favour globally, but I'm holding it for the long term. It was also the first listed equities fund to receive the FCA's Sustainability Impact label - the regulator's own stamp that it's not greenwashing.
Asia-Pacific environmental markets — 10% — Impax Asian Environmental Markets
Every other fund here is weighted towards the US and Europe. This one puts money into Asian companies addressing water scarcity, waste, and energy efficiency in fast-growing economies. More volatile, but the diversification is the advantage.
UK ethical equity — 10% — Liontrust Sustainable Future UK Growth
A home market position. UK equities are genuinely cheap right now relative to global markets, which historically points to better future returns. Liontrust have been running this specific strategy for over 20 years.
Real infrastructure — 15% — Foresight Global Real Infrastructure
The diversifier. Renewable energy, digital infrastructure, utilities - these behave differently to equities. They held up better in the 2022 crash. The returns don't move in lockstep with everything else, which is the whole point of including it.
Physical gold — 5% — iShares Physical Gold ETC
Not gold mining companies - actual gold, physically held. It's not there for growth. It tends to hold its value when markets are stressed, which gives me something to sell and redeploy into cheaper equities if things fall sharply.
Cash — 5%
Left uninvested as a small reserve. Useful for moving quickly without having to sell something first.
I will be mostly leaving these alone, and adding to the overall with regular monthly contributions. I don't want this to take over my life, so I have a reminder to check on this split once every 3 months, but otherwise leave it alone
What I'd tell my past self
Just start now. Today. Your age is the biggest advantage and you don't get it back. Just start small and make a note to update it every 6 months. Anything is better than nothing.
Claim the tax relief you're entitled to. If you're a higher rate taxpayer, check your Self Assessment. It's free money you've already earned and most freelancers never claim it. Get an accountant who will help you with this.
Don't over-engineer it. I spent years putting off the whole thing because I wanted to understand it perfectly before starting. A simple, cheap global fund with an ethical screen would have served me well for all the years I wasn't invested at all.
The more considered structure I have today took shape gradually and was worth doing eventually. But it matters far less than the decision to start in the first place.
I'm not a financial adviser and nothing here is financial advice. This is my own experience and reasoning. If you're unsure what's right for your situation, speak to an independent financial adviser - ideally one who understands the specific circumstances of self-employment.
