Pension for self-employed persons

 As a self-employed person you are of course entitled to AOW after retirement. Do you want a higher pension? Then you have to arrange that yourself. Five things you need to know about pension for the self-employed. 

Discuss your pension with your advisor

As you can read below, there are many options for arranging your own pension. Each option has its own pros and cons. Therefore, always discuss your pension with your accountant or financial advisor!

1. Tax benefits for retirement savings

If you save for your retirement, you can take advantage of tax benefits up to a certain amount. The amount you put into your pension is deductible. You get part of the money back when you file an income tax return. The amount in your pension pot does not count as assets in box 3. You therefore do not pay tax on the value of the pension pot.

Do you stop working and start your pension? Then you pay tax on the amount you receive. 

Consequences of the 2019 Pension Agreement

The 2019 Pension Agreement was announced on 5 June 2019. It also includes proposals for self-employed persons. There may be compulsory disability insurance. It is also being examined whether more self-employed persons can participate in a pension scheme.

2. The sooner you start, the more you build

With our calculation tool you can calculate how much you now have to put away per month or per year in order to receive a certain pension benefit in the future. You can also calculate how high your benefit will be if you set aside a certain amount once a month or a year.

3. Voluntary Continuation

Did you have a paid job before this? In that case, you and your employer paid a premium for your pension. When you become self-employed, in many cases you can voluntarily continue to build up your own pension with your current pension provider. This is called voluntary continuation. You then pay the employee and employer part of the premium yourself. The application for voluntary continuation is often subject to conditions. Check with your pension provider which rules apply to this.

4. Bank savings or with an annuity

You only get the tax benefits if you meet a number of conditions. You have to put the money in a pension product, such as an annuity insurance or bank savings account. You can contact a bank, investment institution or insurer for this. You deposit an amount once or transfer an amount regularly (e.g. every month or once a year). The bank, investment institution or insurer invests the money. When you retire, you buy a temporary or lifelong pension with the final income.

Keep an eye on! You can set aside a maximum amount with tax benefits per year. This is the annual space. Have you not invested money in an annuity insurance or in a bank savings account in previous years? Then you may also be able to use the catch-up area. Calculate on the website of the Tax Authorities how much you can save with tax benefits.  

5. The old age reserve

You can use the old age reserve. Then you reserve part of your profits from business for your pension. This amount is deducted from your income and you do not pay tax on it. The Tax and Customs Administration does not impose any additional requirements on what you do with the money now. So you can invest it in your company, or leave it in an account.

6. Money for pension not for welfare

From 2015 new rules will apply to the pension of self-employed persons. As a self-employed person you no longer have to use up your pension savings if you receive social assistance.