Freelancers must save for retirement: financial auth.

Freelancers should be obliged to save for their own retirement and company employees should be given more power over the amount of their pensions, writes the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) as a contribution to the national pension debate.

The authority feels that if employees have more choice, their knowledge of the retirement scheme should be taken into account.

"Consumers are naturally focused on the short term and not very motivated to plan for their old age. They do not always understand the risks," AFM says.

AFM thinks that people can save more or less in their pensions if they choose. The current pension system is in accordance with AFM but is not flexible enough and does not take personal differences and needs into account, says AFM director Harman Korte in an interview with the Financieele Dagblad.

Another focus is on the freelancers. The Netherlands have about one million freelancers of which hundreds of thousands are in danger of not getting retirement. The self-employed are not required to participate in a pension scheme unlike the regularly-paid company employees. AFM is proposing a general obligation for freelancers to save for their retirement.

"It is inexplicable why some workers are required to save for their retirement and others are not," says Korte.

State Secretary for Social Affairs and Employment, Jetta Klijnsma, asked all parties in August to share their views on restructuring the current pension system.