The government is seeking to address concerns over working conditions in the so-called 'gig economy' by giving workers more protections and greater clarity around their rights, but has failed to address the issue of pension saving among the self-employed, according to industry commentators.
Last summer, the Matthew Taylor Review of Modern Working Practices highlighted ways in which self-employed people could be helped to save for retirement, but the government has not addressed the issue in its action plan.
Workers meanwhile will get more rights in terms of sick and holiday pay and government will be "accountable for good quality work as well as quantity of jobs" as part of the UK's new industrial strategy announced last autumn.
Steve Webb, director of policy at provider Royal London and former pensions minister, said the actions were welcome but the government response offered little hope for improving the pensions of the self-employed, with the issue again being kicked into the long grass.
"The government’s automatic enrolment review merely proposed some further research and testing on pensions and the self-employed, which is not up to the urgency of the problem," he said.
Kate Smith, head of pensions at provider Aegon, echoed this view. “Following the government’s recent review of auto-enrolment, it promised to look at how to kick-start the self-employed into pension saving. Government needs to grasp the nettle and address this growing savings gap before it’s too late," she said.
