Giuseppe Spina
Actor
Giuseppe studied theatre at the Accademia Teatro Dimitri in Verscio. Since 2005, he has worked as a freelance actor, musician and director in Switzerland. Since 2012, he has run the theatre workshop Gleis 5 in Frauenfeld together with four colleagues. The theatre produces and puts on four of its own productions a year. Giuseppe taught acting at the Zurich workshop school (Atelierschule Zürich) from 2008 to 2019 and has produced and directed a large number of plays with both professionals and amateurs. As well as German, he also speaks fluent Italian, French and English.
Giuseppe’s topics:
#PensionProvision
#FinancialPlanning
#Freelancer
#Self-employed
Three questions for Giuseppe
To be or not to be! Have you ever faced this question in your life?
After receiving my degree, there was absolutely no obvious way forward. I had ideas and plays I could have sold and performed. But all the venues had already planned their programmes until well into the following year. So I took my fate into my own hands and played at places where theatre is normally not performed: ferries, empty factory halls, schoolyards and courtyards. I had to work my socks off for a pittance, but it was just enough to make ends meet.
Have you ever had pension role models?
No. My parents are typical Italian immigrants, who moved back to their home village when they retired and so have limited ambitions for retirement. But before I trained as an actor, I worked at a financial institution. That gave me insights into various topics, such as pension provision. This knowledge later helped me to take certain decisions.
What pensions advice would you offer your younger self?
Even though I may risk sounding like an old record, I’ll say: start paying into 3rd pillar individual benefits provision as early as possible. Every additional year you pay will make a big difference in the end.
Popular questions
