When you’re self-employed, there are lots of ways you can save for retirement. You could retain some of your earnings in a savings account; keep money in your business until you need it; invest in other assets like property; or try to make do with a state pension if you’ve paid enough National Insurance contributions.

The problem: these methods all work out expensive, usually in the form of the tax you’ll need to pay when you try to turn those assets into cash.

Pensions are unique in that they are tax-efficient now and are also bolstered by contributions from the government in the form of tax relief. That means you make your money go further—and your pension pot get bigger—at the same cost to you.