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Investments Retirement Protection Insurance Taxation
Not an employee? What’s the plan?
Amy Woolliscroft23rd December 2025
The agricultural sector in the United Kingdom is one of those most exposed to a self-employed workforce, with 65% of those working in the sector either self-employed farmers, business partners, or directors[1]. While these positions bring independence, they often go without the benefits of a regular, salaried position.
Unlike salaried employees, who may benefit from auto-enrolment company pensions, private health cover and income insurance policies, if you are not in a conventionally salaried position, you should take proactive steps to manage your finances effectively for peace of mind now, and a comfortable retirement in the future. Without taking financial advice, there’s a real risk of self-employed workers leaving themselves financially vulnerable now and in the future.
Let’s look at the key financial planning considerations that every self-employed worker should think about.
Retirement Plans for Self-Employed Workers
While self-employed individuals do not have access to auto-enrolment pension schemes, there are various options for tax-efficient retirement savings.
Anyone can open a private pension and start making regular contributions today – don’t forget that you will also be entitled to pension tax relief on eligible contributions in line with your tax band. There are lots of considerations when it comes to your pension pot, including the timeframe of investment and your attitude to risk, so speaking to a financial adviser is always recommended.
It's essential to start contributing to a pension as early as possible to benefit from compound growth over the years – delaying starting your plan by just a few years can make a huge difference to the final pot.
Many people also use ISAs as part of their retirement planning, and they can be useful if having accessible funds is important to you (currently you cannot access private pension funds until age 55, rising to 57 in 2028). You can set up Cash and/or Stocks & Shares ISAs, and again it’s important the funds you are invested in make sense for your timeframe and attitude to risk. Your financial planner will be able to help you align your ISA with your Pension for a joined-up approach to your retirement.
An ‘exit plan’ can also be a key consideration in your retirement planning as there may be a monetary value to the business you have developed. For example, if you are a farm bookkeeper, there may an opportunity to sell your ‘book of clients’ to another bookkeeper.
Insurance and Protection Policies
Working for yourself means you bear the full brunt of financial risk, but there are things you can do for peace of mind and mitigate some of these threats. You could consider:
· Income Protection Insurance: This type of policy can provide peace of mind by offering a portion of your income if you're unable to work due to illness or injury. Given the physically demanding nature of work in the rural and farming sector, this insurance should be considered.
· Critical Illness Cover: This coverage pays out upon diagnosis of a serious illness, helping you cover medical bills and living expenses without the stress of lost income.
· Public Liability Insurance: An absolute must to protect you against claims made by third parties for injury or damage to property during your work.
Income Fluctuations
If you are employed by a company, you can usually rely on a monthly pay day, but one of the primary challenges for self-employed workers in any industry is the fluctuation in income from month to month. For example, if your business is hedge-laying, you would expect to find a reduction in invoices going out during the Spring and Summer months.
With that in mind, it is important to develop a budget and cashflow plan that accommodates these irregular income patterns, meaning you can plan to set aside a portion of earnings during your peak season to create a financial buffer and emergency savings for those leaner months. Don’t forget to set aside a portion of your earnings to pay your income tax and National Insurance contributions too, but we’ll come on to that later.
Tax Planning and Self-Assessment
Understanding your tax obligations as a self-employed individual is absolutely essential so that you don’t find yourself in hot water with HMRC, but also so you understand what tax you can expect to pay and when, ensuring you have put aside enough over the year to pay these bills.
If you are at all unsure of your tax obligations as well as allowable deductions as a self-employed worker, we cannot recommend enough engaging a qualified accountant who specialises in the agricultural sector. We work closely with many accountants to ensure we are providing joined-up advice to our clients and are always happy to collaborate with other professionals to ensure the best outcome.
Seeking Professional Guidance
Navigating the financial landscape as a self-employed agricultural worker can be overwhelming, especially if this is new territory for you. Seeking advice from specialist chartered financial planners, like our advice team here at Accession, can help develop a robust and tailored financial strategy.
We are a firm of Chartered Financial Planners based in Oundle, Northamptonshire, specialising in financial advice for farmers, landowners and business owners. Directors, Emma Wilcock and Richard Jones have each worked in financial services for over 20 years alongside a dedicated and growing team including Chartered Financial Planner, Joe Moricca MSc FPFS, to support a range of clients.
If this is something you could use some help with, please call 01832 279170 or email accession@sjpp.co.uk
The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds selected and the value may fall as well as rise. You may get back less than the amount invested.
The levels and bases of taxation, and reliefs from taxation, can change at any time and are generally dependent on individual circumstances.
Please note that Cash ISAs are not available through St. James's place.
SJP Approved 18/12/2025
[1] Department for Environment, Farming and Rural Affairs, Farming evidence - key statistics, updated 23 October 2025