“There is little enthusiasm for this scheme. This can make it very difficult for the minister,” says Ton Wilthagen, professor of Labor Market at Tilburg University.
The new scheme should ensure that self-employed persons have a safety net if they fall ill. It is not yet known what the insurance will look like. But the government assumes that it must be explainable, feasible and affordable and that it can be introduced in a timely manner.
The discussion about compulsory disability insurance has been going on for years. The number of self-employed persons in our country has increased considerably since the start of the corona crisis. Especially in sectors such as healthcare, education and construction.
A better balance between work and private life, less work pressure and higher rates have ensured that there are currently more than 1.24 million self-employed people. Just before corona, there were another million. An estimated 20 percent of the self-employed are insured.
According to Minister Karien van Gennip (Social Affairs and Employment), the labor market is out of balance and the government must therefore intervene. As a result, people need more certainty. “But the policy will not be any friendlier with a mandatory state pension for self-employed persons,” says Wilthagen.
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‘Let self-employed people decide for themselves with whom they insure themselves’
Chairman Charles Verhoef of Self-Employed Construction, the largest self-employed organization for the construction sector in our country, agrees. He thinks that a uniform scheme will not work and that the cabinet mainly wants to make the self-employed more expensive.
“We are not necessarily against compulsory insurance, but let the self-employed decide for themselves with whom they do this,” says Verhoef. “As a cabinet, ensure certain preconditions that self-employed persons must meet.”
Then the self-employed person can go to an insurer or to a bread fund, in which self-employed people save together if one of them is unable to work due to illness. “There are already enough alternatives that are also affordable. The mandatory state pension will also cost a self-employed person about 200 euros per month in premiums. And the benefit in the event of illness is around the social assistance level. That will not help us.”
Verhoe further does not think it is a good idea that the government wants the mandatory state pension to be implemented by the UWV. “The benefits agency already has great difficulty performing certain tasks. How do you come up with this?”
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