Eduard Strekert Financial Advisory · DVAG
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For the self-employed · Lüdenscheid and the Märkischer Kreis region

Self-employed: retirement, protection and taxes in one plan.

As a self-employed person, nobody but you pays into your pension. There is no continued salary payment, and you have to choose your health insurance yourself. I am Eduard Strekert, financial advisor for Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG in Lüdenscheid, and since 2013 I have helped self-employed people, freelancers and founders in the Märkischer Kreis region put these topics in the right order.

0 € is what an employer pays into your pension. Every building block is your decision. Unless compulsorily insured under Sec. 2 SGB VI
Since 2013 Advice in Lüdenscheid, Knapper Straße 24, and throughout the Märkischer Kreis region.
In person & video Appointments bookable online, evenings or weekends by arrangement.

Who this advice is made for.

Self-employed means many things in Lüdenscheid: the trade business with employees, the practice, the freelancer at the computer, the founder in year one. The questions are similar, the answers are not.

Trades and small business

Business, staff, machines. Your own provision often comes last.

Practice and law firm

High income, high tax burden, professional pension fund. What is still missing privately.

Freelancers and IT

Projects instead of a salary. Provision that keeps up with fluctuating income.

Founders

First year, first decisions. What matters now and what can wait.

Four topics self-employed people tend to leave open.

In everyday business there is no time, and none of these topics announces itself. We tackle them in exactly this order.

Topic 1 · Pension

Retirement planning without an employer

Most self-employed people are not compulsorily insured. What you do not build yourself will not exist later. We calculate your pension gap and choose the building blocks that fit your income.

  • Basisrente (tax-deductible basic pension): deductible contributions, lifelong pension
  • Fund portfolio: flexible when income fluctuates
  • Voluntary statutory pension and tangible assets as a supplement
Basisrente explained → Calculate your pension gap

Topic 2 · Income

Ill or unable to work: who pays?

No continued salary payment, no automatic sickness benefit. From the first day of illness the income is gone while the business keeps running. For self-employed people this is the biggest gap and the one closed least often.

  • Daily sickness allowance (Krankentagegeld) from the day you choose
  • Occupational disability (BU): one in four is affected during their working life (DAV)
  • Power of attorney: who decides if you are out of action
Income protection → Power of attorney for owners

Topic 3 · Health

GKV or PKV, your free choice

As a self-employed person you decide yourself. Both routes have their price, and the decision lasts into old age. We compare honestly, with an eye on family, health and the return rule from age 55.

  • Statutory health insurance (GKV): family cover, income-based contribution
  • Private health insurance (PKV): benefits by tariff, premium by age and health
  • Daily sickness allowance belongs in both variants
Health insurance → GKV and PKV compared

Topic 4 · Liquidity

Money in the business and privately

How much buffer belongs in the business account, what may leave it, and where does it go then? Tax and provision interlock here. We do the framing together, your tax advisor does the numbers.

  • Emergency fund: three to six months of expenses, business and private
  • Invest surpluses instead of leaving them idle
  • With employees: occupational pension (bAV) and company health insurance (bKV) to retain staff
Advice for business owners → How much buffer in the account?

Three steps to your plan.

01

Initial consultation

Together we look at where you stand today and what matters to you. In person in Lüdenscheid or by video. Free of charge and without obligation.

02

Analysis and plan

Income, pension gap, existing contracts, tax situation. From this comes an order: first the foundation, then the returns.

03

Implementation and support

We put the steps into practice and review the plan once a year. If the business grows or your life changes, we adjust it.

Eduard Strekert, financial advisor in Lüdenscheid

Eduard Strekert, financial advisor in Lüdenscheid.

Since 2013 I have advised private clients, self-employed people and business owners in the Märkischer Kreis region as a financial advisor for Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG (DVAG). My office is at Knapper Straße 24 in Lüdenscheid. I work with fixed product partners, among them Generali, Deutsche Bank and Badenia, and I stay with my clients for years, not just until the signature.

  • Insurance intermediary under Sec. 34d GewO (German Trade Regulation), financial investment intermediary under Sec. 34f GewO, mortgage credit intermediary under Sec. 34i GewO
  • Advice in German and Russian, website also in English
  • In person in the Märkischer Kreis region, in Iserlohn, Schwerte and Dortmund; by video across Germany

Initial information under Sec. 15 VersVermV (German) with all details on status and remuneration.

Read on: knowledge for the self-employed.

The most common questions from my consultations, answered in detail.

Retirement planning for the self-employedFour steps from the foundation to the mix of building blocks. Basisrente as a tax leverHow much is deductible and for whom it pays off. GKV or PKV for the self-employedThe honest comparison, including the return rule. Aktivrente for the self-employedWhat the new rule brings and who gets nothing from it. Money in the business accountHow much buffer makes sense and what happens to the rest. Power of attorney for business ownersWho decides when the boss is out of action. Wealth building for business ownersBuilding private wealth alongside the business. Income protectionWhere the gaps open up when you can no longer work, and how to close them.

Frequently asked questions from self-employed people.

Who advises self-employed people in Lüdenscheid on retirement planning?
Eduard Strekert, financial advisor for Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG (DVAG), has advised self-employed people, freelancers and business owners in Lüdenscheid and the Märkischer Kreis region since 2013. His office is at Knapper Straße 24 in Lüdenscheid. Appointments are available in person or by video; the initial consultation is free of charge and can be booked online.
Do I have to pay into the statutory pension scheme as a self-employed person?
Most self-employed people do not. Under Sec. 2 SGB VI only certain groups are compulsorily insured, for example craftspeople registered in the Handwerksrolle, self-employed teachers and carers without employees, midwives, artists and publicists, and self-employed people with a single client. Anyone not compulsorily insured can pay in voluntarily or build their retirement provision entirely privately. Either way, without your own decision no pension is created.
Which retirement plan makes sense for self-employed people without a statutory pension?
Usually a combination of two building blocks. First a Basisrente (tax-deductible basic pension, so-called Rürup pension), whose contributions you can deduct from tax and which pays a lifelong pension. Second a flexible fund portfolio or private pension insurance that keeps up with fluctuating income. Before that, an emergency fund and protection of your ability to work belong in the foundation. The right mix depends on income, age and your pension gap.
What happens if I fall ill for a longer period as a self-employed person?
There is no continued salary payment. Voluntarily insured members of the statutory health insurance (GKV) receive sickness benefit from the seventh week only if they opted in beforehand (Sec. 44 SGB V). Privately insured people have no sickness benefit at all without an additional module. The gap from the first day of illness is closed by a daily sickness allowance (Krankentagegeld), the gap in the event of permanent occupational disability by a BU insurance.
Can I deduct pension contributions from tax as a self-employed person?
Yes. Contributions to a Basisrente count as special expenses and have been 100 % deductible since 2023, in 2026 up to a maximum of 30.826 € for single people. Contributions to basic health and long-term care insurance are deductible as well. How that works out for you is calculated by your tax advisor. In the consultation we plan your provision so that it fits your tax situation.
GKV or PKV: which is better for self-employed people?
That depends on age, health, income and family plans. Self-employed people are free to choose. Private health insurance (PKV) often offers better benefits and lower premiums when you are young; statutory health insurance (GKV) offers free family cover and income-based contributions. The key point is the way back: from age 55 a return to the GKV is practically ruled out. That is why we check both routes before you decide.
What does the advice for self-employed people cost?
The initial consultation is free of charge and without obligation. I work as a financial advisor for Deutsche Vermögensberatung AG and am remunerated by the product partners if you decide on a solution. You pay no fee. The initial information under Sec. 15 VersVermV (German) with all details on status and remuneration is available on the website.
Do you also advise outside Lüdenscheid?
Yes. In person throughout the Märkischer Kreis region as well as in Iserlohn, Schwerte and Dortmund. By video consultation across Germany. Appointments can be booked online, evenings and weekends by arrangement.

Free & without obligation

Let's talk about your situation.

A first conversation, in person in Lüdenscheid or by video. We look at which of the four topics is up first for you. No pressure, at your pace.

Book initial consultation →