영국의 자영업자의 노후소득보장법제와 시사점 ― 공적 연금 제도를 중심으로 ―

Self-employment may be seen either as a survival strategy for those who cannot find any other means of earning an income or as evidence of entrepreneurial spirit and a desire to be one's own boss. In Korean circumstances, it is generally accepted idea that the former case is more prevalent. Using the self-employment as the last income tool means that self-employed people could fall easily into poverty in old age, which requires state level affirmative actions for earning support. It can be said broadly that there are two ways to support retired self-employed people's income. One is retirement pension, the other is pension credit. Retirement pension for self-employed people is characterised by two tier contributions level - Class 2 contributions/ Class 4 contributions. Class 2 contributions are payable on a flat-rate basis which is now ￡2.65 a week. This very low contribution rate contributes to get self-employed people involved into state pension system without excessive burdens. Pension credit is a tax-free payment for people who gain low income. Pension credit is composed of guarantee credit and savings credit, and the latter is made for encouraging the people to save money as a means of earning's their own living. These UK earning support methods suggest a new approach to connecting work to welfare, inducing self-employed people to join the state social security.