Höppne , Julia
A icle — Published Ve sion
Gene osi y o old‐age pensions o he sel ‐employed—A
ypology o Eu opean wel a e s a es
In e na ional Jou nal o Social Wel a e
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Sugges ed Ci a ion: Höppne , Julia (2024) : Gene osi y o old‐age pensions o he sel ‐employed—A
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Gene osi y o old-age pensions o he sel -employed—A
ypology o Eu opean wel a e s a es
Julia Höppne
SOCIUM Resea ch Cen e on Inequali y
and Social Policy, Uni e si y o B emen,
B emen, Ge many
Co espondence
Julia Höppne , Uni e si y o B emen,
SOCIUM Resea ch Cen e on Inequali y
and Social Policy, Ma y-Some ille-S aße
5, 28359 B emen, Ge many.
Email: [email p o ec ed]e
Abs ac
Resea ch on pension gene osi y has so a used employees in s anda d employ-
men as he e e ence poin , igno ing nons anda d o ms o employmen such
as he sel -employed. Mo eo e , as one o he majo concep s o wel a e s a e
analysis, gene osi y has no been conside ed in esea ch on he old-age secu i y
o he sel -employed. Hence, he e is a ‘missing link’be ween he wo s ands
in he li e a u e. This pape aims o close his esea ch gap by analysing he
di e ences be ween 12 Eu opean wel a e s a es ega ding he gene osi y o
old-age pensions o he sel -employed. Based on he deg ee o s ic ness
o access and bene i le el, a ypology is de eloped ha esul s in ou ypes o
gene osi y: high gene osi y, low gene osi y, basic secu i y and selec i e
gene osi y.
KEYWORDS
gene osi y, measu emen , old-age pensions, sel -employmen , ypological analysis
INTRODUCTION
In he ecen pas , he social p o ec ion o he sel -
employed and o he o ms o nons anda d employmen
has been on he agenda o he Eu opean Union (EU) and
se e al Eu opean coun ies. The e has been no only a
council ecommenda ion ega ding access o social p o ec-
ion o wo ke s and he sel -employed ha aims a
imp o ing he social secu i y co e age o nons anda d
wo ke s and sel -employed pe sons (Eu opean
Commission, 2023b), bu also Belgium and he UK ha e
imp o ed pension egula ions o he sel -employed. In
Belgium, minimum pension egula ions be ween he sel -
employed and employees we e ha monised in 2016
(Pee e s, 2016) and in he UK, he sel -employed we e
inco po a ed in o public old-age pensions in a mo e
encompassing way h ough he in oduc ion o he new
s a e pension in 2016 (Cod eanu e al., 2020). The e is
ample eason o hese e o ms and ini ia i es because
ecen s a is ics show ha in he EU, he isk o po e y is,
on a e age, mo e han wice as high o he sel -employed
compa ed o employees (Eu os a , 2022). Mo eo e , ecen
esea ch has shown ha in many Eu opean coun ies, o -
me ly sel -employed pe sons a e a a highe isk o being
poo in old age and his isk inc eases wi h he du a ion o
sel -employmen in he wo king ca ee (Höppne , 2023). I
is likely ha his issue will become e en mo e p oblema ic
in he u u e since, despi e he high deg ee o he e ogene-
i y among he sel -employed, he sha e o he so-called
‘ ulne able’g oups o he sel -employed, including he
solo-sel -employed and sel -employed pe sons wi h low
incomes, is ising (Spaso a e al., 2019).
Abb e ia ions: AT, Aus ia; BE, Belgium; DE, Ge many; DK,
Denma k; ES, Spain; FI, Finland; FR, F ance; IT, I aly; PL, Poland;
PT, Po ugal; SE, Sweden; UK, Uni ed Kingdom.
Recei ed: 30 June 2023 Accep ed: 19 Feb ua y 2024
DOI: 10.1111/ijsw.12660
This is an open access a icle unde he e ms o he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion License, which pe mi s use, dis ibu ion and ep oduc ion in any medium, p o ided
he o iginal wo k is p ope ly ci ed.
© 2024 The Au ho s. In e na ional Jou nal o Social Wel a e published by Akademike ö bunde SSR (ASSR) and John Wiley & Sons L d.
In J Soc Wel . 2025;34:e12660. wileyonlinelib a y.com/jou nal/ijsw 1o 14
h ps://doi.o g/10.1111/ijsw.12660
Agains his backg ound, he e has been an inc eas-
ing in e es in he old-age secu i y o he sel -employed.
As he discussion in he nex sec ion will show, esea ch
on old-age secu i y o he sel -employed deals mainly
wi h wel a e s a e ou comes wi h ega d o po e y and i
does no conside one o he majo concep s o compa a-
i e wel a e s a e analysis: gene osi y. Fu he mo e, exis -
ing esea ch on wel a e s a e gene osi y in gene al and
old-age pension gene osi y in pa icula has ocused on
employees in s anda d employmen and igno ed he sel -
employed. As a esul , I a gue ha he e is a ‘missing
link’be ween he li e a u e on pension gene osi y and
old-age secu i y o he sel -employed. This s udy aims o
ill his esea ch gap by answe ing he ques ion o in how
a he gene osi y o old-age pensions o he sel -
employed di e s be ween Eu opean wel a e s a es.
The e o e, I p opose o analyse gene osi y by de eloping
a ypology. While gene osi y is usually measu ed ei he
by social spending da a o on a one-dimensional scale
using eplacemen a es as a p oxy o gene osi y o by
de eloping indices, a ypology o e s a mo e complex pe -
spec i e on he ins i u ional egula ions unde lying
gene osi y.
The pape is o ganised as ollows: Sec ion 2discusses
he s a e-o - he-a analysis o he gene osi y o old-age
pensions and he esea ch on old-age pensions o he
sel -employed. Sec ion 3desc ibes he analy ical
app oach o he pape , p oposes a ypology o he mea-
su emen o gene osi y o old-age pensions o he sel -
employed and p esen s he da a and ope a ionalisa ion o
he analysis. Sec ion 4p esen s he indings o he p o-
posed ypology, and Sec ion 5discusses he indings and
concludes he pape .
STATE OF THE ART
One o he majo app oaches o analysing wel a e s a es
in gene al and pension sys ems in pa icula is o mea-
su e hei gene osi y. The li e a u e on wel a e s a e and
pension gene osi y has deal in ensi ely wi h he di e -
en app oaches o measu ing his concep , discussing wo
main ways o measu e gene osi y: by using social spend-
ing da a and ins i u ional da a. Analyses using go e n-
men s' social spending da a o in es iga e gene osi y ha e
been c i icised in he pas since ‘by sco ing wel a e s a es
on spending, we assume ha all spending coun s equally’
(Esping-Ande sen, 1990, p. 19). La e s udies p o ided
mo e de ailed analyses (e.g., Adema e al., 2011;
Cas les, 2008); howe e , hese s udies ha e s ill been c i-
icised because he consis ency and compa abili y o
social spending da a is o en p oblema ic (see De
Deken & Ki el, 2007). The second main app oach o
analysing gene osi y a oids hese issues as i makes use
o da a on ins i u ional egula ions. This is he case o a
la ge numbe o s udies on wel a e s a e gene osi y,
including old-age pensions (Dan o h & S ephens, 2013;
Kui o, 2018; Sc uggs, 2007; Sc uggs & Allan, 2006;
Sc uggs & Ta oya, 2022) and o s udies ha deal exclu-
si ely wi h gene osi y o old-age pensions
(Ebbinghaus, 2021; Kui o e al., 2021; Wol e al., 2014).
The s a ing poin o hese s udies, which a e heo e i-
cally and empi ically closely linked o he analysis o
social igh s, is Ma shall's (1950) p ominen wo k on
social ci izenship. The ad an age o using da a on ins i u-
ional egula ions o , mo e p ecisely, social igh s o he
analysis o gene osi y is ha hey e lec wel a e s a es’
e o s o p o ide wel a e om a ci izen's pe spec i e. In
o he wo ds, using his app oach allows us o show how
much esou ces a ci izen ecei es unde which condi-
ions. Despi e he huge po en ial o his app oach o p o-
ide a nuanced analysis o di e en g oups o ci izens,
he gene osi y o wel a e bene i s is usually measu ed
using a highly speci ic e e ence poin : he a e age p o-
duc ion wo ke (APW) ha p esen s a dis inc o m o
s anda d employmen . The eason o measu ing gene -
osi y based on he APW is ce ainly he a ailabili y o
compa a i e da a on social igh s in he Compa a i e
Wel a e En i lemen s Da ase (CWED) and he Social
Policy Indica o s (SPIN) da abase, which use APW as a
e e ence poin . Al hough he (male) wo ke in s anda d
employmen has been he ocus o wel a e s a e policies
in he pas (Pie son, 1998), oday, i p esen s a a he na -
ow concep o assess wel a e s a e o pension gene osi y
in gene al. This is because he sha e o he wo k o ce ha
is in s anda d employmen , ha is, in ull- ime employ-
men wi h pe manen wo king con ac s, has been
s eadily declining (Eu opean Commission, 2020). Acco d-
ingly, K is e al. (2013, p. 322) c i icised exis ing
app oaches o measu e gene osi y and a gued ha ‘ he
gene osi y o he social secu i y sys em is no equal o
e e y ci izen bu a ies o di e en socio-economic
g oups in he di e en wel a e egimes’(see also
Dan o h & S ephens, 2013).
Al hough wel a e s a e esea ch has adi ionally
ocused on employees as he majo subjec s o wel a e
s a e poli ics (see abo e), he e has been inc easing in e -
es in he si ua ion o he sel -employed and o he o ms
o nons anda d employmen in ecen yea s. This
inc ease in in e es is due o he abo e-discussed changes
in he composi ion o he sel -employed and he inc ease
in he ‘ ulne abili y’o many sel -employed when i
comes o gaps in social secu i y and he isk o po e y in
old age. Agains his backg ound, i is unsu p ising ha
much o he esea ch on he old-age secu i y o he sel -
employed examines he isk o sel -employed and
2o 14 HÖPPNER
o me ly sel -employed pe sons being poo in old age.
One eason o hese conce ns is ha in-wo k po e y is
mo e common among he sel -employed han among
employees (Halle öd e al., 2015; Ho emans &
Ma x, 2017), which leads o lowe pension sa ings and
en i lemen s o many sel -employed pe sons in he
u u e. As a esul , some esea ch has deal wi h he abil-
i y and willingness o sa e o e i emen (Fachinge &
F ankus, 2017) and wi h a i udes and beha iou when i
comes o sa ing o e i emen (Conen e al., 2016;
C aw o d & Ka jalainen, 2020; Salonen e al., 2020). The
indings o such esea ch ha e shown ha he sel -
employed a e a isk o being poo in old age, which is
especially ue o mo e ‘ ulne able’sel -employed, such
as he solo-sel -employed (Conen & Schulze
Buscho , 2019). Mo eo e , he li e a u e on he income
si ua ion and he isk o po e y among o me ly sel -
employed pe sons who ha e al eady eached e i emen
age (Höppne , 2021,2023; Pe inicchi & Bö sch-
Supan, 2019) has shown ha e en among oday's e i ees,
he o me ly sel -employed show a highe isk o po e y
and low income. No ably, howe e , om a coun y-
compa a i e pe spec i e, ‘ he design o old-age secu i y
o he sel -employed does no a ec he isk o po e y
in old age in a no able manne ’(Höppne , 2023, p. 63).
In con as o he li e a u e on pension gene osi y,
s udies o pension adequacy, a ela ed concep o en used
in he EU con ex , has deal wi h he si ua ion o he sel -
employed and o he o ms o nons anda d employmen
(Eu opean Commission, 2018,2023a). Al hough his
esea ch has p o ided impo an insigh s in o he li ing
condi ions and he social si ua ion o he ( o me ly) sel -
employed in Eu ope, pension adequacy is concep ually
dis inc om pension gene osi y. This is because in he
cu en publica ions on pension adequacy he concep is
based on he indica o s o po e y p o ec ion using he
a - isk-o -po e y a e o pe sons abo e he age o
65, income main enance in o m o eplacemen a es,
and pension du a ion by measu ing he leng h o e i e-
men (see Eu opean Commission, 2018,2023a). Hence,
pension adequacy makes use o se e al ou come- ela ed
indica o s, which a e a ec ed by wel a e egula ions, bu
also, o example, by economic and labou ma ke de el-
opmen s, and he household si ua ion. By con as , gene -
osi y, as i is used in his pape , e e s o he ins i u ional
design o wel a e egula ions. Like esea ch on pension
adequacy, he abo e-men ioned esea ch on po e y and
he income si ua ion o he ( o me ly) sel -employed in
old age has ocused on he ou comes o wel a e egula-
ions and has ailed o p o ide deepe insigh s in o he
ins i u ional s uc u e o old-age pensions o he sel -
employed, ha is, i s ins i u ional egula ions. Besides
single-coun y s udies ha ha e analysed he design o
old-age pensions o he sel -employed mo e in de ail
(e.g., Can illon, 2004, o Belgium, and Fachinge &
F ankus, 2015, o Ge many), some wo ks ha e p o ided
an o e iew o social secu i y and old-age pensions om
a coun y-compa a i e pe spec i e (Choi, 2009; Spaso a
e al., 2017,2019; Spaso a & Wilkens, 2018). Al hough
hese wo ks ha e p o ided de ailed insigh s in o he
design o old-age secu i y o he sel -employed om a
compa a i e pe spec i e, no s udy o da e has analysed
he gene osi y o old-age pension sys ems o he sel -
employed, ei he as a single-coun y s udy o om a
coun y-compa a i e pe spec i e.
In summa y, an examina ion o he exis ing li e a u e
on old-age secu i y o he sel -employed has shown ha
i does no e e o gene osi y, al hough i p esen s a cen-
al concep o wel a e s a e analysis. Conside ing ha
he li e a u e on pension gene osi y has no included he
sel -employed in hei analyses, he e is a gap be ween
he li e a u e on pension gene osi y and he old-age secu-
i y o he sel -employed. This pape he e o e aims a
closing his esea ch gap by asking in how a he gene os-
i y o old-age pensions o he sel -employed di e s be ween
Eu opean wel a e s a es.
METHODOLOGY
Analy ical app oach
To analyse his esea ch ques ion, i is impo an o i s
de e mine how gene osi y should be measu ed. One
app oach equen ly used in he exis ing li e a u e is o
use he eplacemen a e o wel a e bene i s as a p oxy
o gene osi y (e.g. Ebbinghaus, 2021; G ech, 2015;
G ünewald, 2021; Kui o e al., 2021). O he au ho s ha e
used mo e complex app oaches, including he aspec s o
co e age, eligibili y and eplacemen a es (Kui o, 2018;
Sc uggs, 2007; Sc uggs & Allan, 2006; Sc uggs &
Ta oya, 2022; Tepe & Vanhuysse, 2012). Al hough co e -
age, eligibili y and eplacemen a es all p esen ins i u-
ional cha ac e is ics o wel a e bene i s, se e al s udies
ha e ope a ionalised hese h ee aspec s o gene osi y in
pa s by using ou come indica o s such as pension ake-
up a es as a p oxy o co e age (e.g., Sc uggs, 2007). Di -
e ences be ween co e age and bene i ake-up ha e
ecen ly been discussed in esea ch on he ela ionship
be ween co e age, eligibili y and ake-up a es (Nelson &
Nieuwenhuis, 2021). In hei nuanced analysis, Nelson
and Nieuwenhuis (2021) di e en ia ed be ween wo
o ms o co e age: co e age as po en ial ecipien s
(i.e., ins i u ional co e age), and co e age as ac ual ecip-
ien s. While he o me p esen s an ins i u ional indica o
e e ing o social igh s, he la e p esen s, in pa , an
GENEROSITY OF PENSIONS FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED 3o 14
ou come- ela ed indica o ha is s ongly linked o bene-
i ake-up. Since his pape analyses old-age pension gen-
e osi y o he sel -employed om an ins i u ional
pe spec i e, gene osi y is measu ed based on ins i u ional
co e age, eligibili y and eplacemen a es (i.e., bene i
le els).
Despi e he di e ences in esea ch ega ding he
componen s o gene osi y, i is usually measu ed on a one-
dimensional scale. This is ob ious i gene osi y is ope a io-
nalised using a single indica o , such as eplacemen a es,
bu a one-dimensional app oach is also applied i co e -
age, eligibili y and eplacemen a es a e used as indica o s
o gene osi y, which also use hese ins i u ional cha ac e -
is ics o de elop a o mula o a gene osi y index (see
e.g., Sc uggs & Ta oya, 2022). Measu ing gene osi y on a
one-dimensional scale is use ul since mos esea ch is
in e es ed in he deg ee o gene osi y. Howe e , his one-
dimensional pe spec i e on gene osi y is no app op ia e
o cap u e he complexi y o social igh s since es ablished
esea ch analysing wel a e s a es om a social igh s pe -
spec i e has indica ed ha he design o bene i le els
(income- ela ed o la - a e) and access o wel a e bene i s
(uni e sal o selec i e) needs o be disen angled (Ko pi &
Palme, 1998). Fo a mul idimensional analysis o gene os-
i y, I p opose o de elop a ypology, a me hodological ool
ha has been used in compa a i e esea ch on pension
sys ems ea lie (Ma cinkiewicz & Chybalski, 2019;
Rhodes & Na ali, 2003; Soede & V ooman, 2008).
To de elop a ypology, i is i s necessa y o de e -
mine he ele an dimensions o cap u e gene osi y.
Since gene osi y is abou he wo basic ques ions o who
ecei es how much, I di e en ia e be ween he dimen-
sions o s ic ness o access and he bene i le el o old-
age pensions o he sel -employed. The dimension o
s ic ness o access co e s he wo aspec s o ins i u ional
co e age and eligibili y, while he dimension o bene i
le el includes he eplacemen a es o old-age pensions
o he sel -employed. In line wi h se e al p e ious s ud-
ies o wel a e s a e esea ch (e.g., Egge s e al., 2020;
F e icks e al., 2021; Lei ne , 2003), i is possible o c ea e
an ‘a ibu e space’(Hempel & Oppenheim, 1936;
Laza s eld, 1937) gi en he wo dimensions ha esul s in
a able wi h ou cells p esen ing ou possible ypes o
gene osi y (see Table 1). By assigning cases o he
di e en ypes in he analysis o his pape , he p oposed
ypology se es a heu is ic pu pose, an app oach well
es ablished in o he ypological wo ks o wel a e s a e
esea ch (see F e icks e al., 2021; Van Ke sbe gen, 2016).
Old-age pension sys ems o he sel -employed ha
a e cha ac e ised as showing high gene osi y combine a
low deg ee in he s ic ness o access and a high bene i
le el. Pension sys ems wi h selec i e gene osi y also show
a high bene i le el, bu a e also cha ac e ised by a high
deg ee in he s ic ness o access. This means ha only a
small numbe o sel -employed pe sons will bene i om
a high pension bene i le el. By con as , coun ies wi h a
basic secu i y o hei old-age pensions o he sel -
employed combine a low s ic ness o access wi h a low
bene i le el, ha is, many sel -employed pe sons ecei e
only a modes amoun o pension bene i s. Finally, coun-
ies wi h low gene osi y o hei old-age pensions o
he sel -employed p o ide a high deg ee in he s ic ness
o access and a modes bene i le el.
Da a and ope a ionalisa ion
The da a o he p oposed ypology o old-age pensions
o he sel -employed a e based on he pension maps o
he Max Planck Ins i u e o Social Law and Social Policy
(Schneide e al., 2021) as he main da a sou ce. This da a
sou ce p o ides de ailed ins i u ional da a on se e al pen-
sion schemes, including pension schemes o he sel -
employed in a a ie y o Eu opean and a ew
non-Eu opean coun ies. The da a sou ce is complemen-
ed by he MISSOC (Mu ual In o ma ion Sys em on
Social P o ec ion) da abase on he social secu i y o he
sel -employed (MISSOC, 2023), he OECD epo Pen-
sions a a Glance 2021 (OECD, 2021), which is especially
impo an o he da a on he bene i le el, he 2021 pen-
sion adequacy epo Volume 2 o he Eu opean Commis-
sion (2021) and single-coun y s udies. To compa e he
cha ac e o he gene osi y o old-age pensions o
he sel -employed o di e en Eu opean wel a e s a es,
12 Eu opean coun ies we e selec ed ha belong o di e -
en wel a e egimes (Esping-Ande sen, 1990; Powell
e al., 2020) and ha ha e designed hei old-age pension
sys ems in di e en ways (Ebbinghaus, 2021): Denma k,
Sweden, Finland, Poland, Ge many, Aus ia, Belgium,
F ance, Po ugal, I aly, Spain and he UK. Since he
pape analyses old-age pension gene osi y om an ins i-
u ional pe spec i e based on social igh s, only manda-
o y public old-age pensions o he sel -employed a e
s udied in he 12 coun ies. The da a o he analysis e e
o 2020 as he mos ecen compa able da a. Table A1 in
he Appendix lis s he single old-age pension schemes o
he sel -employed ha a e analysed he ein.
TABLE 1 Typology o pension gene osi y.
S ic ness o access
Low High
Bene i le el High High gene osi y Selec i e gene osi y
Low Basic secu i y Low gene osi y
Sou ce: Au ho 's compila ion.
4o 14 HÖPPNER
Ins i u ional co e age as one aspec o he dimension
o s ic ness o access is ope a ionalised as he legal obli-
ga ion o he sel -employed o old-age pensions. Eligibil-
i y as he second componen o s ic ness o access is
based on h ee sub-indica o s: he minimum quali ica ion
pe iod, he quali ica ion pe iod o a ‘ ull’pension and
he s a u o y e i emen age. The la e is o en no con-
side ed in he measu emen o pension gene osi y. How-
e e , when analysing pension gene osi y om an
ins i u ional pe spec i e, he s a u o y e i emen age is
ele an since a highe e i emen age, ha is, a la e s a
o pension bene i paymen s, inc eases he s ic ness o
pension bene i access.
These ou indica o s o he s ic ness o access we e
measu ed on a i e-poin scale anging om 0 o 4. The
highe he alue on his scale, he highe he deg ee o
s ic ness o access. Co e age is coded as 0 i all
sel -employed in a coun y a e manda o ily co e ed by
public o publicly egula ed old-age pensions. The pen-
sion egula ions a e assigned a sco e o 1 i 80 o 99 pe
cen o he sel -employed a e co e ed by such old-age
pensions, a sco e o 2 i 60 o 79 pe cen a e co e ed, a
sco e o 3 i 40 o 59 pe cen a e co e ed and a sco e o
4 i 39 pe cen o he sel -employed o less a e co e ed.
The minimum quali ica ion pe iod as he i s sub-
indica o o eligibili y is coded as 0 i he e is no mini-
mum quali ica ion pe iod o old-age pensions o he sel -
employed, as 1 i he minimum quali ica ion pe iod is
be ween 1 and 4 yea s, as 2 i he pe iod is be ween 5 and
8 yea s, as 3 i i is be ween 9 and 12 yea s and as 4 i i is
equal o o abo e 13 yea s. The second sub-indica o o
eligibili y, he quali ica ion pe iod o a ‘ ull’pension, is
coded as 0 i i is be ween 0 and 10 yea s, as 1 i he quali-
ica ion pe iod is be ween 11 and 20 yea s, as 2 i he
pe iod is be ween 21 and 30 yea s, as 3 i he pe iod is
be ween 31 and 40 yea s and as 4 i he pe iod is 41 yea s
o highe . The hi d and las sub-indica o o eligibili y,
he s a u o y e i emen age, is coded as 0 i i is 60–
61 yea s, as 1 i i is 62–63 yea s, as 2 i i is 64–65 yea s,
as 3 i i is 66–67 yea s, and as 4 i i is equal o 68 o
highe . Table 2p o ides an o e iew o he coding
scheme o he ou indica o s o he s ic ness o access.
I he e we e di e en old-age pension schemes o
he sel -employed in one coun y wi h a ying egula-
ions o he sub-indica o s o eligibili y, I used he mean
o he di e en egula ions. Fo example, in he case o
Ge many, he Gese zliche Ren en e siche ung (GRV)
and he pension insu ance o a me s ha we e analysed
di e in hei minimum quali ica ion pe iod, which is
5 yea s o he GRV and 15 yea s o a me s. The mean
is 10 yea s, which leads o a alue o 3 o he minimum
quali ica ion pe iod. Mo eo e , in Poland and Aus ia,
he s a u o y e i emen age di e s be ween men
(65 yea s) and women (60 yea s) in bo h coun ies. The
mean alue o 62.5 leads o a coding o 1 on his sub-
indica o .
To gene a e an o e all alue o he s ic ness o
access, he coun y-speci ic alues o co e age and he
h ee sub-indica o s o eligibili y a e summa ised on an
addi i e scale. This addi i e scale anges be ween
0 (0 poin s on all sub-indica o s) and 16 (4 poin s on all
sub-indica o s).
The second dimension o he bene i le el is ope a io-
nalised using wo indica o s. These a e he ne pension
eplacemen a es by ea nings as a pe cen age o he a e -
age ne wage be o e axes and he heo e ical ela i e
pension o he sel -employed as pe cen age o hose o
employees (see o bo h indica o s OECD, 2021). Fu he -
mo e, i is assumed ha he employmen ca ee o he
sel -employed pe son s a s a age 22 in 2020, ha his
pe son shows a con inuous employmen ca ee and ha
he/she e i es a he s a u o y e i emen age. Las ly, i is
assumed ha he sel -employed pe son pays manda o y
pension con ibu ions (OECD, 2021, p. 164). The indica-
o o he ne pension eplacemen a e is based on he
same c i e ia, he only di e ence being ha i e e s o
employees. This enables us o combine hese wo indica-
o s o de e mine he bene i le el o old-age pensions o
TABLE 2 Coding scheme o s ic ness o access.
Co e age Eligibili y
Obliga ion o he sel -employed o
old-age pensions
Minimum quali ica ion
pe iod
Quali ica ion pe iod
o a ‘ ull’pension
S a u o y
e i emen age
0 100% None 0–10 yea s Age 60–61
180–99% 1–4 yea s 11–20 yea s Age 62–63
260–79% 5–8 yea s 21–30 yea s Age 64–65
340–59% 9–12 yea s 31–40 yea s Age 66–67
4≤39% ≥13 yea s ≥41 yea s ≥age 68
Sou ce: Au ho 's compila ion.
GENEROSITY OF PENSIONS FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED 5o 14
he sel -employed. Wha is p oblema ic abou hese wo
indica o s is ha hey a e based on highly speci ic condi-
ions and do no ep esen he la ge a ie y o employ-
men ca ee s o he sel -employed. Howe e , he wo
indica o s we e chosen because hey p esen he bes
compa a i ely a ailable da a on he bene i le el o old-
age pension schemes o he sel -employed and he e is
no single indica o on he pension eplacemen a es o
he sel -employed. To compu e he bene i le el o old-
age pensions o he sel -employed, he wo indica o s
we e mul iplied since he heo e ical ela i e pension o
he sel -employed compa ed o employees se es as a
weigh o he ne pension eplacemen a e o
employees. In Poland, he ne pension eplacemen a e
di e s o men and women (see OECD, 2021, p. 145).
The e o e, he mean o he eplacemen a es o men
and women was used in he analysis.
FINDINGS
This sec ion p esen s he empi ical indings o he p o-
posed ypology o old-age pensions o he sel -employed
in Eu ope. Table 3summa ises he indings o he i s
dimension o he ypology, s ic ness o access.
S ic ness o access
Co e age
As a gued abo e, ins i u ional co e age is measu ed
based on he obliga ion o he sel -employed o old-age
pensions. Mos o he coun ies in his analysis show he
same cha ac e is ics on his indica o . Despi e di e en
pension schemes o employees and he sel -employed in
many coun ies and a high deg ee o ins i u ional ag-
men a ion, o example, in F ance (see Schneide
e al., 2021), old-age pensions a e manda o y o all sel -
employed pe sons in Aus ia, Belgium, F ance, Poland,
he UK, Denma k, Sweden, Finland, I aly, Spain and
Po ugal. These 11 coun ies hus show a alue o 0 on
his indica o . Only Ge many is di e en because old-age
pensions a e manda o y only o speci ic g oups o he
sel -employed, including sel -employed midwi es,
eache s, c a smen, ma ine pilo s, a is s, a me s and
membe s o he ee p o essions (Deu sche
Ren en e siche ung, 2023). The e a e no o icial s a is ics
abou he sha e o he sel -employed wi h manda o y old-
age pensions in Ge many. Di e en da a sou ces men ion
a a ying sha e o he sel -employed wi h manda o y old-
age pensions anging be ween 24% (Fachinge , 2016) and
30% (Deu sche Bundes ag, 2016), which leads o a alue
o 4, acco ding o he sco ing.
Eligibili y
Minimum quali ica ion pe iod
Wi h ega d o he i s sub-indica o o eligibili y, he
minimum quali ica ion pe iod o old-age pensions,
Belgium, F ance and Finland show a alue o 0 since
he e is no such pe iod in hese coun ies. Denma k and
Sweden ( alue o 1) ha e a minimum pe iod o 3 yea s o
esidence be ween he ages o 15 (Denma k) o
16 (Sweden) and e i emen age in hei basic pension
schemes. Ge many, he UK and I aly ( alue o 3) ha e
longe minimum quali ica ion pe iods. In Ge many, he
espec i e pe iod in he GRV is 5 yea s, and i is 15 yea s
o sel -employed a me s. To ecei e a leas some
amoun o he new s a e pension, 10 insu ance yea s a e
equi ed in he UK. In I aly, mos pension schemes o
he sel -employed show a minimum quali ica ion pe iod
o 20 con ibu ion yea s, bu o he ee p o essions,
he e is no such pe iod. Finally, Aus ia, Poland, Spain
and Po ugal a e cha ac e ised by he s ic es egula ions
and a e hus coded wi h a alue o 4. In Aus ia, Spain
and Po ugal, he minimum quali ica ion pe iod is
15 yea s, wi h a leas 7 yea s o employmen in Aus ia,
while 20 (women) o 25 insu ance yea s (men) a e
equi ed o becoming eligible o he minimum pension
bene i in Poland.
Quali ica ion pe iod o a ‘ ull’pension
The wel a e egula ions ha e no quali ica ion pe iods o
a‘ ull’pension in he ollowing ou coun ies: Ge many,
Poland, I aly and Po ugal (I aly and Po ugal only show
such quali ica ion pe iods in case o ea ly e i emen ).
Acco dingly, hese coun ies show a alue o 0. By con-
as , he UK, Finland, Denma k, Sweden, which all
show basic pension schemes, and Spain ha e quali ica-
ion pe iods esul ing in a alue o 3. The UK has imple-
men ed a quali ica ion pe iod o 35 con ibu ion yea s
in o he new s a e pension. Thi y se en con ibu ion
yea s a e necessa y in Spain o ecei e a pension a he
age o 65. In Denma k, Sweden and Finland, 40 yea s o
esidence a e equi ed o ecei e a ull basic pension.
Las ly, Aus ia, Belgium and F ance ( alue o 4) show he
longes quali ica ion pe iod o a ‘ ull’pension, wi h
43 yea s equi ed o e i e wi h a pension a he egula
e i emen age o 62 in F ance and 45 yea s in Aus ia
and Belgium.
S a u o y e i emen age
The hi d sub-indica o o eligibili y, he s a u o y e i e-
men age, also a ies widely be ween he 12 coun ies.
Two coun ies, Aus ia and Poland, ha e di e en e i e-
men ages o men (65 yea s) and women (60 yea s). Like
F ance, which has implemen ed a e i emen age o
62, and Sweden, which has in oduced a lexible
6o 14 HÖPPNER
TABLE 3 S ic ness o access in he 12 coun ies.
S ic ness o access
Co e age Eligibili y
Obliga ion o he sel -
employed o old-age
pensions
Minimum quali ica ion
pe iod
Quali ica ion pe iod
o a ‘ ull’pension
S a u o y
e i emen age
S ic ness o
eligibili y
S ic ness
o access
Aus ia Yes 0 15 yea s (including a leas 7 yea s
o employmen )
4 45 yea s 4 65 (men) and 60
(women)
19 9
Belgium Yes 0 None 0 45 yea s 4 65 2 6 6
Ge many No 4 GRV: 5 yea s; a me s: 15 yea s 3 None 0 67 3 6 10
F ance Yes 0 None 0 43 yea s (bo n a e 1972) 4 62 1 5 5
Poland Yes 0 20 yea s o women and 25 yea s
o men.
4 None 0 65 (men) and 60
(women)
15 5
UK Yes 0 10 quali ying yea s o NICs 3 35 yea s 3 66 3 9 9
Denma k Yes 0 3 yea s o esidence (be ween age
15 and e i emen age)
1 40 yea s o esidence (be ween age
15 and e i emen age)
366 37 7
Sweden Yes 0 Gua an eed pension: 3 yea s o
esidence (be ween age 16 and 65)
1 Gua an eed pension: 40 yea s o
esidence
3 Flexible om 62
on
15 5
Finland Yes 0 None 0 Na ional pension: 40 yea s 3 Na ional pension:
65
25 5
I aly Yes 0 20 yea s o con ibu ions; Libe al
p o essionals: no minimum
pe iod
3 None 0 67 3 6 6
Spain Yes 0 15 yea s 4 37 con ibu ion yea s 3 65 (wi h 37
con ibu ion
yea s)
29 9
Po ugal Yes 0 15 yea s 4 None 0 66 and 5 mon hs 3 7 7
Abb e ia ion: GRV, gese zliche Ren en e siche ung.
Sou ce: Au ho 's compila ion.
GENEROSITY OF PENSIONS FOR THE SELF-EMPLOYED 7o 14
e i emen age s a ing om 62, hese coun ies a e
assigned a sco e o 1. Belgium, Spain and Finland show a
e i emen age o 65 yea s, leading o a alue o 2. Ge -
many, he UK, I aly, Denma k and Po ugal sco e a alue
o 3, wi h e i emen ages o 66 (UK and Denma k),
66 yea s and 5 mon hs (Po ugal) and 67 (Ge many and
I aly).
Bene i le el
The bene i le els o old-age pensions o he sel -
employed in he 12 coun ies being analysed a y g ea ly.
Aus ia has he highes bene i le el (96.69) due o he
combina ion o a compa a i ely high ne pension eplace-
men a e o he a e age ne wage (87.1) and he highes
heo e ical ela i e pensions o he sel -employed as pe -
cen age o hose o employees (111.1). Aus ia is he only
coun y in he s udy ha shows a highe heo e ical ela-
i e pension o he sel -employed compa ed o
employees. Po ugal shows he second highes o e all
bene i le el o 80.75, wi h equal ne pension eplacemen
a es o he a e age ne wage (90.3) and heo e ical ela-
i e pensions o he sel -employed (89.4), ollowed by
Finland (63.18), F ance (62.84) and I aly (55.99) whe e
he bene i le el is abo e he a e age o 49.65. Coun ies
wi h mo e modes bene i le els a e Belgium (49.34),
Sweden (43.61), Denma k (38.66) and Spain (34.45),
while coun ies wi h he lowes bene i le els a e he UK
(25.65), Ge many (24.64) and Poland (19.98). Al hough
Poland p o ides a highe heo e ical ela i e eplacemen
a e o he sel -employed compa ed o he UK and
Ge many (61.8 in Poland s 46.6 in Ge many and 44.1 in
he UK), he ne pension eplacemen a e o he a e age
ne wage is he lowes among he s udy coun ies (32.3)
(Table 4).
O e all gene osi y
Combining he indings o he wo dimensions o old-
age pension gene osi y o he sel -employed shows o
which ypes o old-age pension gene osi y he 12 coun-
ies belong. The i s ype o high gene osi y is cha ac-
e ised by a high bene i le el and a low deg ee o
s ic ness o access. Po ugal, F ance, Finland and I aly
can be assigned o his ype. Belgium is a bo de line
case since he bene i le el is only sligh ly below he
a e age. As such, Belgium is classi ied as belonging o
he basic secu i y ype, which con ains a low bene i
le el and a low deg ee o he s ic ness o access,
oge he wi h Sweden, Denma k and Poland. The hi d
ypeis he ypeo low gene osi y,whichshowsalow
bene i le el and a high deg ee o s ic ness o access.
Ge many, Spain and he UK can be assigned o his
ype. Only Aus ia belongs o he ype o selec i e gene -
osi y, which is cha ac e ised by a high bene i le el and
a high deg ee o s ic ness o access. O e all, a highe
deg ee o s ic ness o access coincides wi h a lowe
bene i le el, wi h Aus ia and Poland being ou lie s,
indica ing a nega i e ela ionship be ween he wo
dimensions (Figu e 1).
TABLE 4 Bene i le el o old-age pensions o he sel -employed.
Ne pension eplacemen a es
by ea nings, pe cen
Theo e ical ela i e pension o he
sel -employed compa ed o
employees, pe cen
O e all bene i le el,
pe cen
Aus ia 87.1 111.1 96.69
Belgium 61.9 79.7 49.34
Ge many 52.9 46.6 24.64
F ance 74.4 84.4 62.84
Poland 32.3
a
61.8 19.98
UK 58.1 44.1 25.65
Denma k 84.0 46.0 38.66
Sweden 56.2 77.6 43.61
Finland 63.2 100.0 63.18
I aly 81.7 68.6 55.99
Spain 80.3 42.9 34.45
Po ugal 90.3 89.4 80.75
a
Mean o he ne eplacemen a e o men (36.5) and women (28.2).
Sou ce: Au ho 's compila ion based on OECD (2021).
8o 14 HÖPPNER
