Self-employed savings and pensions planning app launches

The app offers a pension contribution planner and reviews all savings products and providers on the market before making recommendations tailored to each, creating a personalised plan based on affordability instead of earnings.

Multiply says it will then continuously track and evaluate the market to adapt users’ financial plans if a new product or rate rise alters the best course of action for them.

Multiply is currently regulated to give guidance and provide a financial plan to users, and hopes to gain FCA approval to offer full advice, including recommending specific financial products to users.

Vivek Madlani, co-founder and CEO of Multiply, said: “We want to help independent workers enjoy the freedom they value, whilst also gaining the stability they deserve. The financial perks enjoyed by those in full-time work just don’t exist for this group. But building up an emergency fund, preparing for retirement and saving for life goals such as buying a home are just as, if not more, important when you’re working independently.

“The truth is that thinking about our finances is both daunting and often, boring so we’ve worked hard to make Multiply engaging, taking inspiration from innovators in the gaming industry to create an engaging and expert product. We want to be the financial advisor for the digital generation. Fiercely independent and free.”

Jonathan Lima-Matthews, senior policy adviser at IPSE, commented: “IPSE research reveals that just 31% of self-employed people are using pensions to save for later life. This means there are 3.3 million people potentially sleeping walking into pension poverty.

“Self-employed people often feel bewildered by pension options that are inaccessible and loaded with jargon. Despite their best intentions, there is a lot of work to be done by the pensions industry to bring the self-employed back into the fold.

“Easy to use, tech-based solutions like this app are a great place to start, and getting people to use it will hopefully prove to be the first step to long-term financial security.”