Financial retirement planning processes in the Netherlands: How do they differ between employees and solo self-employed workers?

Abstract

The solo self-employed workforce is growing across Europe, a group which often faces greater individual responsibility for retirement preparation than employees. Using a situational strength framework, this study investigates psychological mechanisms behind retirement planning among employees and three types of solo self-employed workers: voluntary, natural, and forced. Based on survey data from 3,450 Dutch workers aged 40–67, a multi-group structural equation model reveals that, compared to employees and other types of solo self-employed workers, future time perspective influences perceived retirement savings adequacy considerably more strongly among voluntary self-employed workers. These findings underscore the situational-contingent nature of retirement planning and highlight the vulnerability of certain self-employed groups in pension policy debates.