Financial retirement planning processes in the Netherlands: How do they differ between employees and solo self‐employed workers?

Abstract The solo self‐employed workforce is growing across Europe, a group which often faces greater individual responsibility for retirement preparation than employees. Using a situational strength framework, this study investigates psychological mechanisms behind retirement planning among employees and three types of solo self‐employed workers: voluntary, natural, and forced. Based on survey data from 3,450 Dutch workers aged 40–67, a multi‐group structural equation model reveals that, compared to employees and other types of solo self‐employed workers, future time perspective influences perceived retirement savings adequacy considerably more strongly among voluntary self‐employed workers. These findings underscore the situational‐contingent nature of retirement planning and highlight the vulnerability of certain self‐employed groups in pension policy debates.