"In the Netherlands the self-employed are insured against a number of social risks through social security provisions and residence-based social insurances. The selfemployed are, for example, insured against the risk of old age: like every other Dutch resident, they receive a pension under the General Old-Age Pensions Act when they turn 65. In certain situations the self-employed are like every other Dutch resident entitled to benefits under the General Supplementary Benefits Act. The self-employed also are insured for the costs of healthcare through the Health Insurance Act and the General Exceptional Medical Expenses Act. But though they probably are protected and compensated at a higher level in the Netherlands than in most other European countries, the self-employed nevertheless are protected against these risks to a lesser extent than employees are. In theory, the self-employed are even excluded from the employee insurance schemes, though in practice they do have some access to these insurances. In the past the self-employed had their own employment-based insurance schemes, such as the Act on Income Provisions for Older, Partially Disabled Formerly Self-Employed Persons and the Self-Employed Persons Disablement Insurance Act. These insurances protected them against the risks of incapacity for work due to illness, disability or old age. The self-employed were also insured against the risks of parenthood, as they enjoyed the right to a paid maternity leave under the General Work and Care Act. On 1 August 2004 these three social insurances for the self-employed were abolished because the Dutch government maintained that the social risks faced by the self-employed are easier to insure against on the private market than are the risks faced by employees. It thus decided to leave the risks faced by the self-employed to the private insurance market. This decision conforms with a larger trend in the Netherlands, the trend of reconstructing or privatising the social security system." (author's abstract) ; "In den ...