Nearly 70% Of Self-Employed Workers Aren't Saving Enough For Retirement

Self-employment comes with many freedoms, but also with heightened financial responsibilities.

While the traditionally employed can enroll in company-sponsored 401(k) plans that make automatic, regular retirement contributions, self-employed workers don't have this option. And nearly 70% of them are not saving sufficiently, according to a new survey of 2,014 U.S. residents from TD Ameritrade.

Forty percent of the self-employed aren't saving regularly and 28% aren't saving anything, the survey finds. Roughly 30% of both Gen X and Gen Y members who are self-employed say they don't currently save for retirement at all.

"For entrepreneurs, there needs to be a balance between investing in the business today and investing in their future financial well-being," Lule Demmissie, managing director of retirement at TD Ameritrade, said in a release.

Demmissie explained that there is a disconnect between what the self-employed expect for retirement and what is actually likely to happen.

"When you're self-employed, the temptation is to think that the business will grow enough that you won't need to save today," she said. "But, you don't know when the next payout is coming, and you also don't want to forfeit the power of tax-free compounded growth in vehicles like an IRA."