No employer, no sick pay, no auto-enrolment — build all three yourself, with the tax relief doing a third of the work.
- £29
- 8 modules
- Updated at every Budget
- 30-day refund
An employee gets a pension contribution, sick pay and a State Pension record without thinking about any of it. A self-employed person gets none of the three unless they build them, and most never quite get round to it. The cost of not getting round to it is quiet: a missing qualifying year here, higher-rate relief never claimed there, no income at all in the month you cannot work.
The tax system does a third of the work if you let it. Relief at source gives basic-rate relief automatically; higher-rate relief has to be claimed on your return, and most people do not. Voluntary Class 2 is one of the cheapest ways to buy a qualifying year in the entire system, and one of the least understood. This course turns all of it into a plan you can finish in an afternoon.
What’s inside
- What employees get free that you do not, costed honestly
- Your State Pension forecast, qualifying years, and when voluntary Class 2 is worth paying — and when it buys nothing
- How relief at source works, and the Self Assessment step that recovers the rest if you pay higher-rate tax
- How much, and how to contribute when income is irregular
- Pension as a tax tool: the effective 60% band between £100,000 and £125,140, and the child benefit charge taper
- Sick pay, income protection and critical illness — what each actually pays, and the underwriting traps for the self-employed
- The cash buffer, and where insurance beats self-insurance
- A one-page safety net audit, and a review date
The templates
A contribution calculator showing what £100 in the pot really costs you, a 60%-band rescue sheet, a State Pension checklist, and the safety net audit.
What the first evening looks like
Pull your State Pension forecast first and read it with the checklist, because that decides whether voluntary Class 2 buys you anything. Then the contribution calculator, which shows what £100 in the pot really costs you after relief, and the safety net audit, which is honest about where insurance beats self-insurance. If you earn above £100,000 in any year, the 60% band sheet is the module that pays for the course by itself.
Buying more than one? All ten 2026/27 courses, 262 pages and 44 templates, are £119 against £328 at full price. See the full course list.
Not for you if: you need advice on a specific pension product or provider. This is information, not financial advice — for that, see an FCA-authorised adviser.
Common questions
Does this recommend a pension provider?
No. It explains how to compare them, what the charges mean and how contributions work with irregular income, but choosing a specific product is financial advice and belongs with an FCA-authorised adviser.
I am a basic-rate taxpayer. Is there anything to claim?
Relief at source already gives you basic-rate relief. The course still matters for the State Pension record, sick pay and the cash buffer, which have nothing to do with your rate.
Is there really no sick pay for the self-employed?
There is no Statutory Sick Pay. The course covers what does exist, including the benefits route and the insurance products, with the underwriting problems self-employed applicants run into.
How long does the plan take?
Most people finish the audit and set the contribution in a single afternoon. The State Pension check depends on how quickly you can log in to your HMRC account.
General information, not tax or legal advice. Figures checked against HMRC and other primary sources at publication — see our editorial policy.