When you reach retirement age, you should have adequate provisions to avoid suddenly finding yourself with empty pockets. A study by Postbank provides an overview. (Photo: © Birgit Reitz-Hofmann/123RF.com)
Read aloud:
Self-employed people and freelancers aren't saving enough for retirement. One in four doesn't have adequate private pension provision. The most popular form of retirement provision, by the way, is owning your own home.
This is the result of a recent study by PostbankExactly 26 percent of the self-employed and freelancers in Germany currently have no private pension provisionAnd one in four people rate their financial provisions as "insufficient." Nevertheless, only a few will invest in further expanding their retirement provisions in the future. According to an analysis by Postbank, 56 percent of all self-employed and freelancers do not expand their private pension provision, only one in five (21 percent) has plans to do so, the rest are still undecided.
The analysis is based on a survey conducted by the Allensbach Institute for Public Opinion Research. "The analysis once again highlights that the means to build up retirement savings are often lacking," says Harald Roos, Head of Business and Corporate Customers at Postbank. This is because the income situation among the self-employed in Germany varies considerably. According to Allensbach figures, one-fifth of self-employed households have less than €2.500 per month. However, an equally large group has more than €5.000 per month at their disposal.
Traditionally, self-employed individuals often secure their retirement through real estate ownership. An analysis by Postbank shows that seven out of ten self-employed households own property . Among salaried employees, this is only the case for five out of ten. In addition to owner-occupied property, 58 percent of the self-employed also describe rented houses or apartments as the "ideal form of retirement security." This is exactly twice as many as among salaried employees (29 percent).
Operations management
Operations management
When self-employed individuals or freelancers make private provisions for retirement, they invest in insurance products far more frequently than employees and workers. According to a Postbank analysis, they are more than twice as likely to own a private pension or life insurance policy as working-class households. Approximately one in three self-employed individuals or freelancers has such a policy. "The ongoing period of low interest rates is significantly reducing the returns on insurance policies in retirement. This is further widening the gaps in retirement provision for many self-employed individuals and freelancers ," emphasizes Roos. According to the Federal Statistical Office, a total of around 4,4 million people are self-employed in Germany.
Newsletter
Write a comment