Best Pension & Retirement Savings Apps for the Self-Employed

Last updated: July 2026 · Written and fact-checked by the Jobbers.io Editorial Team · Figures cross-checked directly against IRS.gov and GOV.UK

Nobody auto-enrolls you in a workplace pension or matches your 401(k) contribution when you’re self-employed. If you freelance, consult, or run your own small business, retirement saving is entirely opt-in — which is exactly why so many independent workers keep putting it off. Research from the Pew Charitable Trusts has found that less than a quarter of nontraditional workers save through any kind of employer-style plan, mostly because they simply don’t have access to one.

The good news: once you pick the right account and the right app, self-employed retirement saving can be more flexible — and in some cases more generous — than a typical employee 401(k). This guide covers the best pension and retirement savings apps for the self-employed in 2026, the real US and UK contribution limits for this year, and how landing steady freelance jobs through a marketplace like Jobbers.io makes the whole plan easier to actually fund.

⚠️ Verify before you rely on any number below. This article is for general information only and is not financial, tax, or legal advice. Contribution limits, tax rules, and provider fees change every year and vary by country and personal circumstances. Confirm current figures directly with an official source (such as the IRS, HMRC/GOV.UK, or a licensed financial or tax advisor) before making decisions. Jobbers.io is a freelance marketplace, not a financial institution or pension provider, and does not offer investment, tax, or legal advice.

Why Retirement Planning Looks Different When You’re Self-Employed

As a freelancer, you are both the employer and the employee for retirement purposes. That has two practical consequences: nobody else is funding your account, and your income probably isn’t a fixed, predictable paycheck. Research from the Investment Company Institute shows that a majority of gig-worker households do own some form of retirement asset, but building real savings usually requires a deliberate account and a deliberate app — it rarely happens automatically the way it does with a W-2 job. That’s exactly the gap the tools below are built to close.

Best Retirement Accounts & Apps for the Self-Employed in the US (2026)

2026 IRS Contribution Limits at a Glance

The IRS announced these figures for 2026 in Notice 2025-67. Always check the official IRS COLA table for the current version, since these adjust annually.

Note on SEP IRAs: sole proprietors don’t actually get the full 25% in practice. Because your “compensation” for a SEP is your net self-employment earnings after certain deductions, the real effective rate works out closer to about 20% of net self-employment income for most sole traders — not a flat 25%. Run your specific numbers with a SEP calculator or a tax professional rather than assuming the headline percentage applies directly to your income.

Top US Apps & Providers to Compare

• Fidelity — SEP IRA, Solo 401(k), and IRA accounts with no account fees and zero-expense-ratio index fund options; Fidelity Go offers automated portfolio management at no cost on smaller balances. A solid one-stop option if you want accounts and investments in the same place.
• Vanguard — Known for low-cost index investing, with a Solo 401(k), a SEP IRA, and Vanguard Digital Advisor for hands-off, low-fee automated investing.
• Charles Schwab — Another major brokerage offering no-fee Solo 401(k) and SEP IRA accounts with broad investment choice and in-person branch support.
• Guideline — Built to make 401(k) plans, including Solo 401(k)s, simple and affordable for solopreneurs and small teams, with transparent flat pricing.
• Human Interest — Similar positioning to Guideline: sets up and administers solo and small-business 401(k) plans without the usual plan-provider paperwork.
• Carry — An app built specifically around self-employed tax strategy, helping you open and manage a Solo 401(k) or SEP IRA and estimate the tax savings from your contributions.
• Betterment — A robo-advisor with automated, goal-based retirement investing and tax-coordinated portfolios across IRAs; check its current account lineup if a Solo 401(k) specifically is a must-have.
• Empower — A free net-worth and retirement-planning dashboard (not an account provider) that’s useful for pulling multiple retirement accounts into one view.
• Quicken Simplifi / Quicken Business & Personal — A budgeting and retirement-projection app; the Business & Personal tier adds invoicing and Schedule C/E/F reporting, useful if you want business cash flow and personal retirement planning in one place.

Best Pension Apps for the Self-Employed in the UK (2026/27)

2026/27 Annual Allowance & Tax Relief

These figures come directly from GOV.UK’s guidance on pension tax relief. Always confirm the current tax-year figures there before making a contribution decision.

Top UK Pension Apps to Compare

• PensionBee — Best known for consolidating old workplace pensions into one simple, ready-made plan; fees are typically in the 0.50%–0.95% range, roughly halved on amounts over £100,000.
• Penfold — Built specifically for self-employed and freelance workers, with flexible contribution scheduling designed around irregular income; fees typically start from around 0.75%.
• Vanguard SIPP — A full Self-Invested Personal Pension with one of the lowest platform charges available, typically around 0.15%, aimed at people comfortable picking their own low-cost funds.
• AJ Bell (Dodl) — A low-fee, app-based SIPP with a simple, no-frills interface and pricing that’s typically among the cheapest on the market.
• Nutmeg — A managed, risk-based pension portfolio app for people who’d rather not choose individual investments; fees typically start from around 0.45%.
• Moneybox — Popular for its “round-up” feature that sweeps spare change from everyday spending into a pension automatically — a gentle way to start if you’re new to pension saving.

Provider fees, minimums, and product lineups change often — treat the figures above as a starting point for comparison, and check each provider’s own pricing page before you commit.

Freelancing Outside the US or UK? What to Check

Freelance clients don’t stop at national borders, and neither should your retirement planning research. Most other countries also offer some form of voluntary or state-linked retirement scheme for the self-employed — for example, the Plan d’Épargne Retraite in France, voluntary provident fund contributions in parts of Asia, or private retirement annuities across other EU and MENA markets. Contribution limits, tax treatment, and eligibility rules differ significantly by country, so the specific US and UK figures in this guide won’t transfer directly if you’re based elsewhere. Search your own country’s tax or pensions authority, or speak with a local accountant, before opening an account.

How to Choose the Right Retirement App as a Freelancer

• Flexibility for irregular income — look for no minimum monthly requirement and an easy way to pause or resume contributions.
• Contribution limits that match your ambitions — a basic IRA caps out quickly for higher earners; a SEP IRA, Solo 401(k), or SIPP gives more room to grow.
• Fees — a percentage-based fee compounds over decades, so a 0.15% account and a 0.95% account can produce meaningfully different outcomes over 20–30 years.
• Tax treatment in your country — understand whether contributions are pre-tax, tax-relieved, or Roth-style, and how deductions actually work for your situation.
• Integration with your invoicing or bookkeeping — some apps let you automate a contribution as a fixed percentage of each client payment.
• Consolidation support — useful if you’re bringing old employer 401(k)s or workplace pensions into one account.

Turning Freelance Income Into Consistent Retirement Contributions

The account and the app only work if you consistently fund them, and that depends on steady client work. This is where a commission-free marketplace makes a practical difference: Jobbers.io doesn’t take a cut of what freelancers earn, and lets freelancers and clients agree on payment terms directly rather than routing every transaction through a platform fee. That means the income you actually collect is the income available to fund a SEP IRA, Solo 401(k), or SIPP contribution, with nothing skimmed off the top before it reaches your account. Pairing that kind of unreduced income with an automatic transfer of a fixed percentage of each invoice — even a modest one — is one of the more reliable ways to build a savings habit despite month-to-month income swings.

Frequently Asked Questions

What retirement accounts can self-employed people use in the US?

The main options are a SEP IRA, a Solo 401(k), a SIMPLE IRA, and a Traditional or Roth IRA; high earners sometimes add a defined benefit plan. Each has different contribution limits and rules — see the comparison table above for the current 2026 figures.

How much can a self-employed person contribute to a SEP IRA in 2026?

Up to $72,000, or roughly 25% of eligible compensation — whichever is lower — based on 2026 IRS limits. For sole proprietors specifically, the effective rate works out closer to about 20% of net self-employment income once the required adjustments are applied, so it’s worth confirming your exact figure with a SEP calculator or tax professional.

What is the 2026 Solo 401(k) contribution limit?

Up to $72,000 total (employee plus employer contributions combined) for those under 50; $80,000 for those 50 and older using the standard $8,000 catch-up; and $83,250 for those ages 60–63 using the higher SECURE 2.0 catch-up of $11,250.

Do self-employed people get an employer match?

No. As both the “employer” and the “employee” for retirement purposes, self-employed savers fund both sides of the contribution themselves — which is why choosing an account with high contribution limits, like a SEP IRA or Solo 401(k), matters more than it would for a traditional W-2 employee.

What’s the best pension option for self-employed people in the UK?

Most self-employed UK workers use a SIPP or a personal pension, often through app-based providers like PensionBee, Penfold, Vanguard, or AJ Bell. The 2026/27 Annual Allowance is £60,000 (or 100% of earnings if lower), and basic-rate tax relief of 20% is added automatically.

Can I still contribute if my income is irregular?

Yes. IRAs, SEP IRAs, and most SIPPs allow flexible, one-off, or irregular contributions rather than requiring a fixed monthly amount, which suits variable freelance income. Several providers, including Penfold and PensionBee, are built specifically around that kind of flexibility.

Are retirement app fees tax-deductible for freelancers?

Contributions themselves are typically tax-advantaged, either through a deduction or automatic tax relief depending on the account and country. Platform or management fees are usually not separately deductible for individual retirement accounts, but rules vary, so check with a tax professional for your specific situation.

How does freelance income from a platform like Jobbers.io factor into retirement planning?

Freelance earnings count as self-employment income in most countries, and that income is what determines your contribution limits for accounts like a SEP IRA or SIPP. Because Jobbers.io is commission-free and lets freelancers negotiate payment directly with clients, freelancers can plan contributions around their full, unreduced earnings rather than working around platform fees first.

⚠️ Reminder: Tax rules, contribution limits, and provider fees change frequently. Double-check every figure in this article against the primary sources linked below, and consult a licensed financial, tax, or legal advisor before acting on any of it. This article is general information, not personalized advice.

Sources & Further Reading

• IRS — 2026 401(k) and IRA contribution limit announcement (Notice 2025-67)
• IRS — Full COLA table by plan type (IRA, SEP, SIMPLE, 401(k))
• GOV.UK — Tax on your private pension contributions: Annual Allowance
• Fidelity — Self-employed retirement plan options explained
• Pew Charitable Trusts — Nontraditional workers and retirement saving
• Investment Company Institute — Retirement asset ownership among gig-worker households