See below an interesting piece from the NRC about Work Disability for ZZPers. I get this question often. Also about the comparison with a bread fund I would like to make a free independent comparison of all parties. Pension agreement Self-employed people will soon be required to take out disability insurance. Can they afford it? 225 euros per month. That is what 42-year-old Jessica Harmens would pay monthly in premiums for disability insurance. "In a good month I earn 2,500 euros net, but there are months when I don't earn more than 1,500 euros," says the Beverwijk resident. Harmens gives singing lessons as a self-employed person and also hires herself out as a theater teacher at schools. "If I have to deduct disability insurance from my income in addition to my health insurance and liability insurance, I might have ten euros left."

Many sole proprietorship entrepreneurs, such as Harmens, were shocked last Wednesday when they saw the pension agreement. The approximately 1.1 million self-employed people who work in the Netherlands will not be subject to a statutory pension obligation. However, they would have to take out disability insurance (AOV) under the new system. Self-employed people are now worried about whether they will be able to pay the premiums for this. In 2016, 'only' one in five self-employed people had disability insurance, according to figures from Statistics Netherlands. The amount of the premium is one of the main reasons for self-employed people not to take out insurance. These costs can be high. For employees, part of it is still borne by the employer, the self-employed person pays everything themselves. And those who practice a risky profession pay even more proportionally. Self-employed pavers and painters pay more than journalists or consultants, because they are more likely to have accidents at work.

Financial buffer

Insurance is particularly difficult for 51-year-old skipper Peter Baerts. The Edammer has been sailing the Amsterdam canals on old barges for seven years. "And I organise sailing trips at sea." He does this work as a self-employed person. "Skipper is a dangerous profession. But I can't even take out insurance if I wanted to. I'm too old and I had surgery for a hernia ten years ago. There's a good chance that I'll have back problems during my work." Baerts has built up a financial buffer in case he's unable to work for a long period of time. "But colleagues don't have that. Insurances simply exclude them. Where will they go in the future?" Monique Kremer, special professor of active citizenship at the University of Amsterdam, understands the concerns of the self-employed. She is conducting research into the future of work. "It's very difficult to get good insurance in the market." Kremer thinks that the disability insurance for self-employed persons would be better transferred to the state. This was already the case from 1998 to 2004. At that time, the Disability Insurance Act gave self-employed persons the right to a benefit from the UWV.

No safety net

The pension agreement does state that it still needs to be examined whether there should be exceptions to the mandatory AOV for self-employed persons. The government has asked the social partners to advise next year on what the scheme should look like exactly. Minister Koolmees (Social Affairs, D66) emphasizes that in some sectors, such as agriculture, "there are already more suitable arrangements". Self-employed farmers and livestock farmers can, for example, become members of agricultural cooperatives that provide 'business care'.

Read more about what the pension agreement means for you and the people around you Freelance HR consultant and translator Lisette Heikens (63) particularly criticizes the mandatory aspect of the insurance. "There is such a diversity of self-employed people. You can't just lump them all together," she believes. "I can get a spinal cord injury and still be able to give advice. The chance that I will become disabled during my work is also very small." In the thirteen years that she has been working as a self-employed person, Heikens has "never considered" taking out disability insurance. "If something goes wrong, I have to rely on reserves. It is a risk, but that is part of being an entrepreneur," Heikens believes. Bookkeeper Bianca van der Zwet sees many self-employed people in her practice who do not have AOV. "I think that only about 35 percent of my clients have taken one out. Many of them think that if they are ill, they can have someone temporarily step in. They don't think about what happens if you can't work for a long time." Van der Zwet thinks that's unwise. "You simply don't have a safety net."

Bread Fund

Self-employed masseur Desiree Rosier (55) has tried to create such a safety net herself. She joined a so-called 'bread fund' in her hometown of Leiden. Self-employed people can join this by transferring a monthly amount to their own bread fund account. This money in their account remains theirs, money is only deducted if someone in the bread fund becomes incapacitated for work. However, bread funds often only pay out for two years. With an AOV you are in principle paid out until the AOW age, with some exceptions. Nevertheless, Rosier is happy with the bread fund. "I see it as an insurance myself." Rossier quit her permanent job seven years ago to fully devote herself to the massage practice. "That went very well. Until two years ago, due to a combination of ailments, I started having problems with my left thumb." Inconvenient for someone who has to use her fingers every day at work. "After the operation, I was unable to massage for two months." With the help of the bread fund, she was able to pay the bills during that time. But what if they are out of the running is? “Then I could always work for a telemarketing company. They always have vacancies.” Correction (June 8, 2019): An earlier version of this article stated that Broodfondsen often only pay for one year. That should be two years. It also stated that participants in Broodfondsen transfer money to a joint account. However, it concerns their own account. Both errors have been corrected. Source nrc 06-07-2019