UK digital bank Monzo has teamed up with the Centre for Inclusive Money at Nest to tackle the significant shortfall in retirement savings among the country’s self-employed workers. The collaboration aims to examine practical ways banks can encourage sole traders and freelancers to put money aside for later life, drawing on years of research and Monzo’s track record of helping business customers manage their finances.
Only around 17 percent of the UK’s 4.4 million self-employed individuals currently contribute to a pension, a stark contrast to nearly 90 percent of eligible employees who benefit from workplace schemes.
This gap exists even though roughly three-quarters of self-employed people recognise the importance of preparing for retirement, matching the views of those in traditional employment.
Without an automatic enrolment system, fluctuating incomes and the absence of employer contributions make consistent saving far more challenging for this group.
The second UK Pensions Commission has already flagged self-employed pension participation as one of the most pressing issues facing the national retirement system.
The partnership will investigate whether simpler, more automated approaches to retirement saving can make a meaningful difference while still allowing flexibility for those who prefer not to participate or cannot afford regular contributions.
Inclusive Money brings seven years of specialised research into the barriers facing self-employed savers, while Monzo contributes its experience supporting hundreds of thousands of sole traders through its business banking services.
The digital bank has previously demonstrated the power of behavioural design: more than two million customers joined its automated Savings Challenge after collectively setting aside over £350 million in 2025, and Monzo Business users channelled £450 million into automated Tax Pots last year to cover future liabilities.
Insights generated through the real-world customer initiative with Monzo Business will feed into future product development and will be shared with the Pensions Commission to inform its broader review of retirement outcomes expected in 2027.
The work builds on Inclusive Money’s ongoing multi-year program, which has already produced early evidence that “default savings” models show promise in boosting participation without removing individual choice.
Ruth Persian, Associate Director of Research and Innovation at the Centre for Inclusive Money at Nest, said:
“Monzo’s approach to product design will help us take our research forward to the next step: moving from promising ideas to real-world solutions for real customers.”
Jordan Shwide, General Manager at Monzo Business, said:
“Millions of self-employed people are missing out on the benefits of automatic retirement saving, despite many wanting to put money aside for the future. We want to help people build financial security and resilience, in line with our mission to make money work for everyone.”
By combining academic insight with banking tools, the initiative seeks to develop approaches that fit the realities of self-employment and ultimately strengthen long-term financial resilience for millions of UK workers.