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For broadcast and film contractors who have been trading through a limited company for a number of years, the question of how to extract money from the business is one that tends to become more pressing over time rather than less. In the earlier years of trading, the focus is usually on keeping the company running. Managing cashflow through quieter periods, building a buffer, reinvesting in equipment or professional development. The extraction question is relatively straightf

IR35 is one of those topics that generates a significant amount of anxiety in broadcast and production, and a comparatively small amount of clear, practical information. Most of what gets written about it focuses on tax liability and employment status. Considerably less attention gets paid to what working inside IR35 means for pension planning - which, for experienced consultants in their 50s thinking about the longer term, is often a consequential area to understand. A brief

For experienced freelancers in broadcast and production, the state pension tends to occupy an odd position in financial thinking. It's vaguely known to exist, assumed to be arriving at some point, and rarely examined in any detail until retirement feels imminent. That's understandable. When income is coming in regularly from contracts and the immediate financial priorities are around tax, drawings, and keeping the company running smoothly, the state pension can feel like some

For broadcast and production consultants who have been trading through a limited company for a number of years, one question tends to arise eventually - usually quietly, in the background, without ever quite being answered. How much money should actually be sitting in the company? It's a question that's surprisingly difficult to find clear guidance on, partly because the answer is genuinely personal, and partly because most financial content aimed at limited company contracto

If you've spent a career working in broadcast and production, the chances are your pension situation looks nothing like someone who spent thirty years at the same company. It probably looks more like this: a handful of pension statements arriving at different times of year, from providers you half-remember joining during a long contract several years ago. A couple of schemes you're not entirely sure are still active. Possibly one or two you've lost track of entirely - set up

If you've been working in broadcast or production for fifteen years or more, there's a reasonable chance you've ended up with a collection of pensions you've half-forgotten about. A workplace scheme from the BBC contract you did in 2009. A different scheme from the indie you worked at between 2013 and 2016. A SIPP you set up when an accountant suggested it. A small pot from the company you contracted to in 2019 that auto-enrolled you for six months before you went limited aga

It's not a bad investment. It's not a pension they forgot to set up. It's continuing to say yes to every gig that comes in — just in case — when the numbers already say they don't need to. Here's what that actually costs.