Retirement preparation and retirement transitions of the Dutch solo self-employed

Although the group of solo self-employed (i.e., “ZZP’ers”) has been growing fast, scientific insights regarding their retirement preparation and retirement transitions are relatively scarce. Earlier Netspar research (e.g., by Mastrogiacomo and colleagues) examined financial retirement preparation of the self-employed from an economic perspective. The current project will add to these insights by taking an interdisciplinary approach, incorporating notions from psychology, sociology, and economics. It contributes to the central themes of Netspar’s Academic Research Program in two main ways.

First, the project contributes to Netspar’s theme 3.2. “Preparation for retirement, saving and portfolio choice,” by examining financial (saving, perceived adequacy of old-age income) and non-financial (talking, reading, asking advice) retirement preparation of the Dutch solo self-employed, thereby acknowledging that retirement preparation may be part of a more overarching strategy of preparation for an uncertain future. Second, by studying retirement plans, retirement pathways, and retirement timing of the solo self-employed, the project contributes to Netspar’s theme 3.1. “The labor market and older age groups”.