Pension - I have none and I’m a little unsettled by DHs response!

It's about making informed decisions and unfortunately Op hasn't done that so far. Hopefully she will find out all the info that she needs now.

The NHS pension is one of the best there is. I would be very worried about him advising you to come out of that.

Fancy relying on a man for your financial security. You should always make provision for yourself , if anything because relationships fail .

@Soal

Fuck off. Disabled ones, ill ones, ones who have to relocate for their partner's jobs, carers...

Some people aren't able to work, of course, but you don't just take it as read that your partner will handle everything in your best interests and hand over responsibility for everything.

Also while I accept that its a different matter for people who are disabled or ill why should someone who has located for their partner's job opt out of the workforce indefinitely?

I have a friend in a similar position to you. She has autism. She lives in abroad. She currently is on benefits. She had paid the equivalent of ni stamps for a number of years.

She started to read up on the state pension and realised she would be in trouble later on. She has started to pay towards the equivalent of ni stamps. Each year she gets a bill for this and its costing her the equivalent of £400-£500 stg a year.
She is doing some voluntary work at the moment.
She is planning to get back into paid part time employment to improve her financial position. She will get the equivalent of ni stamps and will be in a position to make a payment into a private pension each month and she will be able to save more as well. This will give her more cash at a later date.

I know she will be left money after her parents die but she said to me I can't just depend on that especially if they need elderly care in a nursing home.

I think that you now need to get advice re your NI stamps and see what you have in regards to these. See if you can buy back these. I look at getting back into paid employment even part time and paying into a private pension as well.

You need to look into your husband pension and see if your entitled to any money from this if he dies. If your downsizing your home you need to take cash from this and speak to an independent financial advisor about a pension ect for you.
I know that this may cost a bit but it money well spent.

I think years ago woman got married and they expected that there husband would look after them financially. In reality it up to a woman to make plans for if they leave work what will happen to them financially then and what happens when they reach pension age.

@EllyRoff any thoughts on some of the advice? Are you able to take any of it on board at all?

Age is an issue - if you are in your 30s then you have time to get something in place. If you are late 50s a different situation and different strategies required.

Please do update us. If nothing else this is a cautionary tale to everyone that whilst it might seem a dull subject it is vital to discuss it.

It doesn't sound like the best position OP - you do need to check what your situation is. Is there a reason why you wouldn't be the named beneficiary on your DH's pension?

As pp say, it's important to know your age before giving a lot of advice.

I’ve just read that you’re downsizing. Have you both discussed what to do with what’s remaining of the proceeds from the sale of your current home? Some of that money should be for you but my hunch is that he’s planning on dumping it all into a savings account only he can access, so don’t let this happen.

As somebody has already said, this kind of thing is often said in jest.

I have heard my husband say the same thing. The reality is that he has a very good defined benefit pension and substantial savings.

I am also the named beneficiary on his pension. Incidentally, the benefits are usually reduced if there is a large age gap.

You can receive NI contributions even if you don’t claim your child benefit; as long as you are eligible to claim, you will receive the credits. I never claimed my child benefit, but still receive the NI contribution.

OP, lots of questions to answer in order to tailor advice. Do you have children (thus eligible for the NI). How old are you? If a way before 60, nothing to stop you opening a SIPP. Even if you pay in the minimum (around 2.8k), it will get topped up by the government to 3.6k.

Coming out of the NHS schemes was very ill-advised but it's done now. It's possible to build up a decent pension though even on a pt low wage. I also have a small wage coming in from my arts-related company (under the income tax threshold). I pay all of it into a pension, plus £4k into a LISA (the bonus works out to be a similar value to the tax relief on a pension), and another £16k into a S&S ISA. DH and I pool our finances so thr money just comes from our joint account. Added up, it's a decent amount going into retirement savings although it's not all in a pension wrapper, but that allows for more flexibility and better tax advantages. I've learned about investing which had meant I've had an excellent return in the past ten years, and I have more in my pot than other people who have a higher wage but put the bare minimum in and have stayed invested in the default fund.

Easy to say but not everyone's life works out that way.

Oh dear. How old are you? Might be too late to do much about it depending on your age...in which case you'll have to try and get a job and keep working through old age. I know someone in their Late 70s still working full time as she has no pension.

Agreed, you'd think we still lived in 1950 not 2025.....

@RaspberryPavlovaPlease

So I don't agree 100% that women shouldn't 'rely' on their spouse's pension when it's been a joint decision over decades as to who earns what and how.
I will be entitled to 50% of it when he dies as well as my own small occupational pension, a private pension I set up 5 years ago, the full state pension , and savings.

But that's all fine and dandy if the marriage remains in good shape. Not so straightforward if the marriage breaks down. Yes a lot of women with robust marriages and financially solvent husbands will in practice be fine but it's the lack of visibility and autonomy. Why would you leave that in the hands of someone else? However much you trust them now.

And in this case the OP's husband has already given poor and potentially disastrous financial advice. We can't know whether he's financially incompetent or deliberately sabotaging her but he has shown himself a poor judge of her best financial interests.

Some pension schemes do not allow you to name a beneficiary that is not your spouse or a dependent. However, you don’t have to name a beneficiary at all. It depends on whether he is paying into a pension or an annuity. The fact he is being shady about this may mean he isn’t paying into anything.

Has your husband not named you as beneficiary on his private pension? Most people do. Who else would it go to? Question him about that. I get some of my late husband's occupational pension and he would have received mine had I died first.

If you were left with only state pension and that wasn't much, you will be able to claim pension credit and various other things so don't worry, you won't starve but, honestly, you won't have a lot to spare. Hopefully your husband has a decent amount of savings that you would be able to draw on.

You really do need to have a serious conversation. I don't get why your husband is being so vague about it all. Presumably he wanted you to not work and he persuaded you to opt out of the NHS pension scheme. I worked for the NHS and only paid into the pension scheme for my last four years so I don't get much but, honestly, it is extremely useful - £130 pcm, not to be sneezed at. I also got a small lump sum when I reached retirement age. Every little helps. I did think of drawing it out at one stage but am glad I didn't. None of that helps you now, hindsight is all very well. Have the talk and find out what state pension you will get from Gov.UK.

I'm flabbergasted and furious on your behalf op, I'm not going to say could've, would've, should've, it's a bit late for that. I agree I would also be very concerned.
As previous posters have said he can change the beneficiary of his pension at any time, also his share of your home and savings in his will, so you need to start financially planning as of now. I would insist that my NI contributions be brought up to date from the proceeds of the downsize as it was his insistence that you stop contributing to your NHS Pension which this has put you in this very precarious situation, then put your half of the proceeds of the sale into a savings plan. I would also go back to work and see if you can improve your pension in that respect and if he's inconvenienced on a daily basis because your not there looking after him tough.

Who on earth is the beneficiary, I don't think he likes you very much op if he is happy to see you living on the breadline in retirement, and think about what you can buy if all your left with on his death is half of the proceeds of your downsized home.
Another alternative is divorce the p*ick, get a good solicitor and take him for half of everything.

This is virtually impossible to read, but as far as I can tell the advice is for America - and therefore not relevant.

the comments on this do seem harsh but I wonder how your OH convinced you out of keeping your own pension? They are so important. Don’t rely on any man for money, please ensure you have your own because you never know what changes will happen.

The sole occupancy discount applies to all ages though, it's not specific to pensioners.

Surely, he knows who his beneficiary is!

I gave up work when I had DD and stopped paying into my pension (so I do have a small pension). Since then I've worked very much part-time and DH has been aware I'm not paying into a pension.

We got engaged shortly after we met and immediately DH told me that he'd put me down as his named beneficiary. Pensions have named and been reinvested since, but he's always been clear I'm his named beneficiary and how much I would get. Generally it's around 50% of what he would get. He basically wants to reassure me that I'll be ok and can pay the bills when retire. Again, we both know DH is the beneficary of my small pension, again he'll get around 50%. He took early retirement 18 months ago, and received a lump sum which has gone into joint funds - always done that anyway, but obviously it means I've got immediate access to top up funds if DH passed away.

You can apply and get an estimate of how much your state pension will be, even if you haven't paid all your NI contributions, there must be some credits from working, having children, so it's sure to be more than £60.

Why haven't you worked and saved up in a pension? How old are you?
How can you expect to be supported by tax payers if you haven't contributed yourself? You need to have another talk to your husband to see what provision he has made with his pension. Also, get a full time job now and make some pension contributions.