You can still contribute voluntarily to the public pension if you want to but the majority of self-employed people here don't as this is seen as a feature not a bug.
Part of the concept of being self-employed in Germany is that you're opting out of the welfare state and are responsible for taking care of yourself. With the potential upside of better raw earning potential.
No you don't, you can stay in the public system.
> you need to save up for retirement and so on
You can still contribute voluntarily to the public pension if you want to but the majority of self-employed people here don't as this is seen as a feature not a bug.
Part of the concept of being self-employed in Germany is that you're opting out of the welfare state and are responsible for taking care of yourself. With the potential upside of better raw earning potential.