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

It's not really about the value of the fund, it's more about her financial independence and whether her DH is clueless but has good intentions or needed some cash for something frivolous.

Usually, if you are not able to work due to mental issues, you would go on sick leave, and when your sick pay runs out, you would claim contributory ESA (Employment and Support Allowance) which is a benefit for people who are not able to work due to sickness or disability. The advantage of claiming this, other than the money itself, is that you get NI credits which protect your State Pension entitlement. You do have to provide fit notes to begin with and then undergo an assessment (the work capability assessment). Unfortunately you are unlikely to be eligible for this any more because it's based on National Insurance contributions in recent tax years, and you haven't been making any. However, you can make a "credits only" claim which means that you wouldn't get any payments but you would at least get NI credits.

The decision to withdraw from the NHS pension scheme was a spectacularly bad one. You said that you are downsizing soon and this will release some capital. I would suggest that you put half of it into a bank account in your name only and then seek further advice about what to do with it; you could save some and put the rest into a private pension in your own name.

And if your husband is not willing to check and show you proof that you are the beneficiary of his pension, you should seriously consider your rights in the event of a divorce.

Do the two of you have wills? Do you know what's in his will?

I’m afraid your DH is financially illiterate as NHS workers get huge pension contribution's from the state (Uk tax payer) while in employment

Contribution rates on a defined benefit pension are meaningless. And contributions towards a DB pension do not go into an individual’s own pot in the way they do on a DC pension. Public sector workers are UK taxpayers too…!

This

Check online how many years NI contribution you have made and if you have full or less state pension entitlement. I thought a lot of pensions were usually restricted to going to the wife or beneficiary that has been dependent on the deceased person but I would want a cast iron guarantee from him. Maybe it’s time to start putting some money away for yourself so you have a bit of back up. I hope you are legally married as that gives you more rights.

The problem here is you haven’t taken responsibility for your own finances. Why on earth did you allow someone else to persuade you to stop paying into your pension? It’s he greatest investment you can make in your future? No one with your best interests at heart would suggest this. But you shouldn’t be so passive about your own future.

can you go back to work? Build you own financial future?

PLEASE get financial advice. Financial planner here. You urgently need financial advice. They will give you advice but a pension fund is likely to be the better place to put savings because of the tax relief (with the caveat you need advice on your particular situation).

Right, so, before you spending money from the sale of your house on your financially illiterate husband, for the love of god, please get financial advice. There are good ways to run your money and bad ways to run your money. Obviously it’s better to pick the good ways to do it.

Right

Financial planner here. Please go and see a financial planner. I’m sorry to say you’ve made a lot of very, very silly mistakes that are going to very, very adversely impact your retirement years. The first big mistake is that you have relied on your DH for your own future. What if he divorces you? Relationship break down. Affairs. I see it ALL the time. Then (usually) the wife has very little. Death is another issue. Ill health for one of you another massive issue for people. Huge issue.

Second mistake is opting out of a guaranteed pension. Dear lord. This is a guaranteed pension so if you lived to 130 you would still be getting a guaranteed amount from the pension every year which increases with inflation. Even if the inflation rate because 30%. You still get an index linked pension payment.

step 1 - Start saving every month into your own pension.

Step 2 - Sort out your own financial planner and stop celebrating your future to someone else. Apologies to say it, but your husband is giving terrible advice and has pulled you down as a result.

If you aren't happy with him chances are you get half the house and half his pension in a divorce.

you are being a little dramatic - not everyone knows they can add a beneficiary and probably he’d done so years ago and forgot if it was you although highly likely it was you. Onus is on you for pulling out your contributions when you were in employment. why didn’t you think ahead about this day? don’t blame him. it was your call! also i would be taken aback a little that you are talking about his death, naturally. anyway its a conversation you need to have but without the drama. im sure he will, if not done already, name you as beneficiary.

I had some gaps in my NI contributions so I've just paid to buy them back so I can get pretty much the full state pension. Check on gov.co.uk 👏

Sorry if I got it wrong. I thought she was talking about a husband's pension being paid to a wife when he died and I don't know anybody in that position. I shouldn't have commented without checking first. I couldn't see anything relevant in that link though.

It’s not rare.

www.gov.uk/pension-credit/eligibility

Hi OP, I’m afraid your DH is financially illiterate as NHS workers get huge pension contribution's from the state (Uk tax payer) while in employment, which results in a pension far higher than anyone in the private sector could achieve on the same income / contribution levels. To suggest you left it shows his lack of knowledge in this area. It is therefore entirely likely you are not currently named and he should check / correct that immediately for your piece of mind. That said, should he die without naming you it is highly likely that you would receive some benefit from the pension as his legal next of kin (spouse) unless of course the idiot has put someone’s name down? I should warn you that in the majority of widows tend to get a smaller payout than the pension owner as you are not the policy holder. I agree with others that comment you will not automatically be entitled to a state pension unless you have made the required contributions. The good news is that you can at least rectify this with a lump sum payment.

No - that's not automatic at all. It's probably quite rare nowadays.

I thought it would be automatic that his pension goes to you?

The fear instilled in is to always pay your NI but apparently if you don't you can get pension credit, which tops up your state pension and entitles you to many benefits I have heard.

You can only fill NI gaps for the past 6 years, and you need around¹ 35 years to qualify for full state pension.

The state pension doesn't transfer to a spouse on death. That only applied to people who reached pension age before 2016.

¹ It’s exactly 35 if you didn't start paying until 2016 or later. Years before 2016 can count as a bit more or a bit less than a year depending on whether you were contracted in or out of SERPS and various other factors.

Agreed! What a massive shame you came out of it - it’s one of the best around and you could never match the return rate with a defined contribution pension.

She knows that.

That's why she said "I’ve made very little contribution in national insurance," and why she also said “what, £60 a week?" (a full state pension would be £230 a week).

how old are you ? I would imagine you are his beneficiary anyway , do you know how much he has in his pension?
depending on your age starting a fund now might not be wise but you can maybe think about a investment ?

How can you just realise you don't have a pension? That's beyond me

Why on earth would you let someone tell you to come out of your pension???

I would ensure all money from downsizing goes to you to but back years to get as much state pension, plus to Pat voluntary contributions.

then look at how much your DH cost you in not allowing you to pay nhs pension and use that money to get you back to what you had listed due to his awful advice!