Warning: this post may cause a little envy… but only a tiny bit 😏

When your married your a partnership ! so your actually both contributing!!

@Londontown12 You still wouldn't personally be contributing to paying tax if not working a paid job though?

@LifeSurvior Whilst I don't agree with the posters tone, I do agree that being a mother does not, and should.not, prohibit you from working. I do both (successfully I would like to think).

But what if your other half was making millions and paying loads tax ? And you then was able to have this lifestyle that’s why some woman in their 50s or whatever ages are able to do this ?

What a truly ridiculous and quite spiteful post.
Your responses on here are quite telling, why are you so vitriolic about SAHM and women who choose to prioritise their family work over cooperate work?

Yours is such a outdated narrow 1980s notion harking back to the ideals of the superwoman who must prioritise a 50 hour high-flying work week with babies and marriage either frowned upon or left to late. I think we as a society have evolved from that particular faux femenist dogma.
Being a Mother is one of the most important and actually essential part of being in a functioning society.
We will get nowhere as a species without Mothers!

You are patronising and wrong. If you are an intelligent, intellectually curious person there are learning opportunities everywhere. When I was a SAHM I did lots of reading around child psychology/ development. I volunteered at the school. I was learning things every day. I had time to grow a vegetable patch. All these kinds of things are learning experiences. Most jobs are mind-numbingly dull and once you've done them for a while and do not stretch you intellectually at all. Even professional jobs can be boring after a few years once you plateau. There are lots of interesting people who take time out to raise their kids and these are the people you get to spend time with and talk to. Your post is ignorant and indicates a lack of intellect and creativity on your part.

Me, I’m late 50s, took early retirement at 54, financially secure. I spend the morning doing chores, walk the dog, housework, meal prep. The afternoons are for hobbies, shopping, yoga, exercise.

I also babysit DGC when needed. Occasionally meet up with friends and do long walks.

I worked hard, full time for 36 years, burnt out and exhausted. I’m grateful for what I have now and how relatively easy my life now is.

I don't work. My children are teenagers. I love to learn new things; I speak 3 languages fluently. Am currently learning Italian. I read plenty of books; literature in 3 languages. News in 3 languages everyday to keep up with what's going on in the world. I also "study" with my sons; history, science, maths so that I can keep up and help them with their homework. I did my degree in another country and in another language and a longtime ago so I do feel intellectually challenged. I go to the gym 4 times per week to stay in shape. Don't care much for my appearance, almost never wear makeup but I want to feel healthy and proper.

Since I have been out of the work place for so long I know that I would only be able to get a lowskilled job and I wouldn't be intellectually challenged at all so that's not an argument for working. I would love to find a job where I could use my brain but unfortunately this is very unlikely to happen. I might have to take any job if DH loses his, I am very aware about that so I am using the time I have got to do things I really like: spending time with my children, reading, working out and learning new things.

Sounds like paradise to me, I honestly wake up everyday and think how am I supposed to work for another 40 years!?

@Gymnopediegivesmethewilliesit sounds more like virtue-signalling than vitriol from @HoskinsChoice- or maybe just envy. As many have pointed out out, pension income is taxable and there are other ways of contributing to society.

"In many ways, I think women (and it's often women) who can give their time without pay keep the world going round."

I'm convinced they do. It's just one of the reasons capitalism is so flawed.

Just think if all the women stopped doing the following unpaid: infant childcare, the wraparound care, the school drop offs, the school holiday care, all the endless tasks that come with raising children just to be basic functioning members of society, the housewife/SAHM work so husbands could have their big jobs, the bulk of the extended family caring, the volunteering, the checking up on that elderly neighbour / family friend with mental health issues who us spiralling a bit...

The best way to maximise your obligation-free days, whether you work or not, is not to have children.

@mumofoneAloneandwell 😹 your comment really made me lol

That is a structural issue - the government need to address that robustly and quickly.

Oh, I do feel envy :-)
DC are teens, both have complex needs, one will always need locking after 24/7. I work part time when DC are in college. No family and support network and on my knees. What you describe is pure bliss, not boredom! Enjoy.

If you've worked all your adult life, you've contributed enough.

The majority haven't paid enough tax for their state pension let alone free healthcare and education!

Most people have worked since their teens

Is there a statistic for this because I do not believe the majority of adults have worked full time since their teens till their 50s/60s.

Assuming you drive, you'd still have to pay tax on your vehicle, and there's VAT on goods and services. Unless you buy Jaffa cakes.

People do what's right for them but it shouldn't be hard to see why people retiring in their late fifties and most of them living for thirty years does have an effect on the economy and the amount of taxation needed.

Exactly what I was going to say. Besides we pay taxes on everything thing and services in this country so you always pay even if retired so long you live here and shop and use services.

How much income tax are you paying on a house wife's salary?

It isn't just about tax. Being a 'housewife' is surely a hideous prospect for anyone with any degree of intelligence. There's no mental challenge, no strategy, no ambition, no promotion opportunities, no intelligent conversation, no stimulation of ideas, no change, no entrepeneurialism. The same goes for being a SAHM. Yes, you may be busy but there's no brain required.

I’m 56, stopped working because of some quite traumatic events that left me struggling to function. For several months I’ve been basically recuperating. DC at university, DH working in an extremely full-on job so I’m broadly home alone most of the time.
in lots of ways it’s been lovely- I’ve been learning new stuff, meeting new people, walking LOTS, exercising, keeping on top of the housework, catching up with friends, going to the theatre and exhibitions, reading - so much reading! And sleeping. Gardening, supporting parents with appointments etc. It’s been very healing to just have time and space to process what’s gone on and I have colleagues who were in a less fortunate position financially and are still struggling through in the same workplace so I feel extremely lucky.
However, I do miss the sense of purpose so will start volunteering. At the same time - if both of us were not working, we could very easily lead a healthy and fulfilling life living like this and I do know other people my age who’ve sold businesses or burned out etc that do exactly that.

But they may have worked since they were 16

If money = happiness, then do only "poor" people suffer from MH/take their own lives etc? Of course not. Being very wealthy can cause a huge set of issues of its own (as @Gnarab24 has perhaps suggested).

@sittingonabeach That's all true - but if it is their partner who has worked which has facilitated them not to, then it isn't the individual paying taxes is it? It's their partner. You can't pay something from nothing.