Three in 10 business owners have no pension – Rathbones

Three in 10 business owners did not have a pension outside their business, research from Rathbones Group found. 

Most business owners said they kept their money in savings accounts or Premium Bonds, with 95% reporting this.

Faye Church, senior financial planning director at Rathbones, said: “We often meet owners of successful businesses who see their company as their retirement plan and prioritise reinvesting back into the business over pension saving. 

“That’s often driven by a desire to grow the business, and the belief that a future sale will ultimately take care of retirement. 

“But relying on a business alone to fund later life is a risky strategy.”

Church added: “The future is unpredictable. Small businesses can be hit by economic shocks, supply chain disruption, losing customers or a crisis no one sees coming. 

“That makes it hard to know what your business will be worth when you eventually step back – or even whether you’ll be able to sell it at all.

“Without a pension, you could end up with far less to live on than planned, and even a successful sale may still fall short of funding the lifestyle you want in retirement.”