Pensions for freelancers still not popular

saving two euros in a piggy bankSeveral new pension products developed specially for the self-employed have not yet taken off, the Financieele Dagblad reported at the weekend.

ZZP Pension, BrightPension and Brand New Day have all launched products aimed at freelancers because of concerns that they are not preparing properly for their old age. Two-thirds of freelancers do not have a private pension, research shows.

The government had hoped that private initiatives such as these would prove popular.

‘Every week we get a few new participants but it is slower than expected,’ Karis Jakobsen of the Bright Pension initiative told the paper. The fund has so far attracted 100 people and has downgraded its 2014 forecast from 3,000 to 1,000 members.

The ZZP Pension system, which offers schemes covering 10, 15 and 20 years, has attracted 650 members and assets of €3m.

‘Although it is a good start, it is still below our expectations,’ a spokesman for APG-Loyalis said. The fund hopes to attract a couple of thousand members this year and has a target of 50,000.

Brand New Day say its freelance fund is attracting 50 clients a month without advertising.

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