![\"Stuntman](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/\/15077c84-f1e2-46f2-98cb-5b6573ad4e0c.jpg\")
<\/p>\nRiky Ash earns about \u00a3150,000 in a good year, but is not saving anything into his pension.<\/p>\n
The stuntman, 58, from Nottingham could well be one of the high-earning entrepreneurs at risk of a second class retirement, according to the wealth manager Fidelity International. Its research suggests that 61 per cent of the self-employed workers who pay higher-rate tax and 48 per cent of those paying additional-rate tax \u2014 about 167,000 workers in total \u2014 are not contributing to a pension at all. <\/p>\n
Ash, however, is not too concerned. He may not have a pension but he has invested the proceeds of his 33-year career into cars, gold, and number plates \u2014 his collection of five Lamborghinis has an estimated value of \u00a33 million.<\/p>\n
Cars are not normally seen as good investments, with new ones typically losing value the moment you drive them off the forecourt. But some classic or rare cars can make financial sense, with supply and demand a huge contributor to their value. <\/p>\n
He said: \u201cAs soon as a car registers as a classic car, its value starts to rise because of scarcity. And with supercars, it happens faster because of the very minimal production run, and that is what makes them a good investment.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ash gets personalised number plates for many of his cars. He said his \u201cRiky X\u201d plate is now worth \u00a350,000. If you have a plate that spells out a name, or a coveted combination of digits, then you could be quids-in. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ash with one of his Lamborghinis and its personalised number plate<\/p>\n
TERRY HARRIS FOR THE TIMES<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could buy a number plate today for as little as \u00a3500. If you have a good letter and number combination, I would expect to sell it in five years for about \u00a35,000, which is a very good return.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 How to pick a car that could make you money<\/a><\/p>\n He thinks that saving into a pension is antiquated. \u201cI think those who benefited most from pensions are those who retired in the 1970s and 1980s. They\u2019re the real winners,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He doesn\u2019t see himself retiring and said he will just become more selective of the work he chooses. He said: \u201cIf I get a telephone call and it\u2019s three weeks in Fiji doing powerboat stunts, I\u2019m going to take it.\u201d<\/p>\n In the meantime, he plans to keep investing in tangible assets. \u201cI\u2019ve risked my life to buy those five cars. I don\u2019t like not having control over my own destiny and my own money. I have full control of my cars. I know how much they are worth, and I could only make one phone call, and they would be sold tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018I\u2019m all about the Isa\u2019<\/p>\n Simon Walker, a self-employed private tutor, prefers saving in an Isa over a pension fund. Any gains made on money held in a pension or Isa are tax-free, but pensions give you income tax relief on what you pay in. Isa withdrawals, however, are tax-free for life whereas you could pay tax on pension income.<\/p>\n Walker, 52, from the Wirral, still has some old pensions from his former employers, which he said account for more than 50 per cent of his retirement savings. But any new savings go into his Isas which now have 35 per cent of his retirement pot, split between cash and a stocks and shares Isa held with the investment platform AJ Bell.<\/p>\n When he was 23 Walker had help from his parents buy his first property in Birmingham for \u00a372,500, and he now owns his home in the Wirral outright with his partner. The couple do not have children.<\/p>\n While Walker said he doesn\u2019t have anything against pensions, he prefers Isas at the moment. \u201cI try to do a little bit of everything,\u201d he said. Walker also keeps 10 per cent of his retirement pot in cash across five bank accounts, which he has opened to make the most of switching bonuses. <\/p>\n From April next year the amount you can save into a cash Isa if you are under 65 will be cut to \u00a312,000, so he may have to tweak his savings habit. \u201cI\u2019ll either invest the \u00a38,000 into a stocks and shares Isa or into one of my pensions.\u201d<\/p>\n