Financial Retirement Planning Processes in the Netherlands: How Do They Differ between Employees and Solo Self-Employed Workers?

Camilla Marabini , Netherlands Interdisciplinary Demographic Institute
Marleen Damman, Utrecht University
Paulina Pankowska, Utrecht University

The number of solo self-employed (SSE) workers is rapidly increasing in many OECD countries. This occurence has raised concerns about whether their retirement savings are sufficient. SSE workers hold more individual responsibility to save for retirement compared to employees, due to how the Dutch pension system is designed. Also, increased evidence shows that many workers are forced into self-employment due to external circumstances. This raises the question of whether SSE workers in the Netherlands are more involved in financial retirement planning compared to employees. This research aims to examine whether the relationship between clarity of retirement goals, financial retirement planning activities, and perceived retirement income adequacy differs between Dutch employees, voluntary, and involuntary SSE workers. Data come from the “Views About Retirement In the Netherlands” survey, which contains information on the retirement planning of 1699 employees and 1791 SSE workers. Contrary to expectations, solo self-employed workers and employees are similarly involved in the retirement planning process. These findings are discussed in light of their implications on retirement income security for SSE workers.

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 Presented in Session P2. Health, Mortality, Ageing - Aperitivo