What Is a Pension And How Does the Equity Pension Work for Self-Employed Performers?

Updated on June 23, 2025

A pension is essentially a way to save money for your retirement. Over time, you (and sometimes others, like employers) contribute to a pot of money that grows through investment. When you retire, you can use that pot to provide income and financial security in later life.

For self-employed performers—such as actors, dancers, and stage managers—planning for retirement can be more complicated than for salaried workers. Irregular income, short-term contracts, and career uncertainty can make it harder to save consistently. That’s where the Equity Pension Scheme comes in.

There are a number of options for investing for you retirement, however the Equity Pension Scheme is a tailored pension plan specifically for members of Equity and is the most popular option for our industry. It’s designed to accommodate the unique working lives of people in the performing arts—especially those who are self-employed or on freelance contracts.

The scheme is run by The People's Pension, a large and well-established provider regulated by The Pensions Regulator.

Key Features of the Equity Pension Scheme

• ✅ Designed for Freelancers: You can contribute as and when you’re able, whether that’s monthly, sporadically, or whenever you’re working.
• ✅ Employer Contributions: Employers working under Equity contracts usually contribute to your pension—typically around 5% of your earnings.
• ✅ Tax Relief: You won't pay tax on the money you put into your pension (or if you have already been taxed on it, you will get the tax back). With pensions, you pay the tax when you take the money out.
• ✅ Flexible Contributions: Contribute lump sums or set up regular payments — ideal for variable incomes.
• ✅ Portable and Long-Term: Your pension pot follows you throughout your career, regardless of job changes.

How to Join the Equity Pension Scheme

• Be a Member of Equity – You need to be a member of the union.
• Open a Pension Account – Complete a joining form via The People's Pension or Equity’s website.
• Tell Your Employers – Let them know you’re in the scheme so they can contribute.
• Start Contributing – You can contribute via direct debit, bank transfer, or deductions from job payments.

Why It Matters

A career in performance can be unpredictable, but retirement doesn’t have to be. Many performers don’t qualify for traditional workplace pensions, and relying solely on the state pension may not be enough. The Equity Pension Scheme offers a practical, performer-friendly way to build retirement savings, even if your work is inconsistent.

It’s never too early, or too late, to start planning. Even small, irregular contributions can grow over time thanks to investment returns and tax relief.

How do I Record My Contributions?

If you're self-employed and making contributions yourself, it's essential to maintain proper records. Keep documentation of:

• All contributions you make to your pension
• Receipts or confirmation from The People's Pension
• Any employer contributions received under Equity contracts

It is somewhat unusual to get pension contributions from your employer when you are self-employed in most circumstances (which is why the SD App didn't have a box for pensions under self-employed until recently. However, the Equity Pension is the exception to this and it is often processed before you receive your net pay and may include contributions from the employer.

The way the Equity payments are processed means that you include both your personal contributions and those from the employer together when disclosing your pension contributions to HMRC.  The employer increases your wage by their pension contribution and then deduct this with your part, so the whole contribution is deemed to be from you.  Although you may think of this as being a contribution from you and a contribution from your employer, it is actually treated (and you'll see it like this on your pension account) as the whole amount being a contribution from you plus your basic rate tax relief added, as appropriate. This means (and this is important), the contribution from your employer is part of your income and should be disclosed in your gross income.

What goes in my tax return?

Let's use an example to explain how this all works. Say you receive an agreed fee of £1,000 for a contract; you pay 10% (£100) as pension contribution; and your employer pays 5% (£50).

The pension fund will provide basic rate tax relief, meaning that it adds back the assumed 20% tax to your pension contribution when recording it (which is 25% of the net amount) - in the example above, this means your pension fund will show a total contribution of (£150 + £37.50 = £187.50)

Scenario Summary

Contract Fee: £1,000
Your Contribution: £100
Employer Contribution: £50
Total Net Pension Contribution: £150
Grossed-up Pension Contribution: £187.50 (with 20% tax relief)
Total Gross Income to Declare: £1,050

Self-Employment (SA103 section)

When completing the self-employment section online:

• Enter £1,050 as your turnover (includes your £1,000 fee + £50 employer pension contribution).
• Do not include the pension contribution as a business expense.
• Complete any other expense or profit entries as needed.

Pension Tax Relief (SA100 section)

Later in the return:

• Say "Yes" to having made contributions to a registered pension scheme.
• Under “Payments to registered pension schemes where basic-rate tax relief will be claimed by your provider,” enter £187.50. Ultimately, this will make no difference to your tax bill if you are a basic rate taxpayer - it exists to provide the additional tax relief to somebody who is a higher rate tax payer.

This reflects the grossed-up value of your personal (£100) and employer (£50) pension contributions with basic-rate tax relief.

Note that you only enter your self-employed pension contributions into this box as this is only for those pensions where personal contributions are made under the “relief at source” method - this is not the approach used when you or your employer makes pension contributions under PAYE.

Using the SansDrama app for recording and reporting your pension

New for the 2025/26 tax year, the SD App is now set up especially for this - you'll see when inputting your income, there are specific boxes for your contributions and your employer's contributions with subtotals in the form showing how this affects the boxes for your tax return.

The tax return summary report clearly states the numbers that need to go into the tax return relating to your pension including grossing up the pension.

---