You probably have little desire to read a blog about pensions. I fully understand that your attention span regarding this topic is limited to that of a toddler who has to tidy up after playing. That was exactly my problem for eight years. But since hindsight is always 20/20, I am sharing my personal story. So that you will hopefully be wiser sooner than I was. 

When I started as self-employed, pension was the last thing I thought about. Pension seemed like something for 'later' and as a starting freelancer, that later seemed very far away. But we are now more than eight years on and suddenly later is very close. Fortunately, I have arranged my pension in the meantime, but if I could go back in time, my pension would have been one of the first things I had sorted. 

Pension? I'll sort that out when…

In the first years of my entrepreneurship, I did not really think about my pension. I was in my early thirties, and life after my working life seemed very far away. Besides, I was not earning enough yet to be able to afford a pension, was I? I first had to be able to get by comfortably, fill a savings account, have a stable income, and only then could I start thinking about a pension.

But yes, after a certain age, getting older suddenly goes very quickly. And by then I had two children. Plus a divorce behind me and, holy shit, now I was forty and still had not sorted anything out.

But it was not just the feeling that I had plenty of time and that I was not earning enough that held me back…

Pension. 

That is really one of those words that makes my thoughts spontaneously begin to wander.

Funding ratio. 

I have no clue about that either. 

Return? 

It will all be fine, I suppose. 

Honestly, I did not really feel like delving into this subject either. But the feeling kept gnawing at me and I kept thinking: I really need to find out how that works, pension when you are a freelancer.

Seek and Ye Shall Find

Some things in life cannot be explained. Just as I seriously intended to start arranging my pension, Vive crossed my path as a client. And what did I find out? Pension is not as complicated as it seems. Thanks to the interviews with Alex, Paul, Tom, and Ramses, I became incredibly enthusiastic and confident about arranging my pension with Vive. And it was super easy. I was sent a form that I could sign digitally and after downloading the app, I suddenly had a pension account. Piece of cake.

So pension savings via Vive ensures I have to pay less tax? Sign me up!

Before I started with Vive, I saved for my pension via an investment account. But an important reason to still open an official pension account with Vive was the tax benefits. If you save yourself, either via an investment account or simply via a savings account, you pay wealth tax above an accumulated capital of €57,684 (in 2025). Whereas the amounts I invest via a pension account are exempt from this tax. Rather than giving the tax authorities my hard-earned and saved money, I invest it in my pension. 

Furthermore, you can deduct the contributions to a pension account that fall within your annual allowance (yuck, another pension word, fortunately we have written a blog about that here) from your taxable income. Which means you pay less income tax, while at the same time building up your pension for later. And reporting this to the tax authorities is all done nicely for you by Vive. So there is no extra administration involved either. Unfortunately, extra contributions on top of your annual allowance do not yield more, just a pity about the government. 

My Recommendation to Other Freelancers

What I learned from Alex is that the duration of accumulation is more important than how much you contribute. So even if you start now with €50 per month, you are ultimately better off than if you start five years later with €250 per month. And that is also my most important piece of advice for other freelancers. Just start now, even if you only contribute €50 per month. 

That is how I started myself, with a monthly contribution of €50. The clear forecasts in the Vive app showed what this would yield by the time I retire. This insight was so motivating that I quickly doubled my contribution. In the app, you see your capital grow, which gives you a great deal of insight into your future AND it makes investing in a pension fun too. 

And are you not stable enough yet to contribute every month? Or does a client not pay you on time one month? No problem, you can also choose not to contribute for a month. Or to contribute more for a month. The flexibility you have with Vive in this regard is just very pleasant for a freelancer. 

So, when are you going to arrange your pension?

Looking back, I should have started pension investing much sooner. Fortunately, it is super easy with Vive. I will just list all the tips for you:

• Start now, even with a little: Even a small monthly contribution can grow significantly thanks to the power of compound interest.
• Simple and fast: You can open a pension account with Vive in a few clicks.
• Save on taxes: No wealth tax on your pension money and your contribution is deducted from your taxable income. A nice bonus in the summer. 
• Flexible contributions: Adjust your contributions based on your financial situation—more or less, depending on what is possible each month.
• Clear and motivating: See with your own eyes how your pension pot grows in the Vive app, which motivates you to continue saving.

If all goes well, after reading my story, you are wiser than I was. So what are you waiting for? Sort out your pension quickly! Your future self will thank you. 

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This guest article was written by: Saida Boujemaaoui - freelance copywriter.