To stop work

[hurtingbackachingheart]

I can never make my mind up, so quick thread to get other views.

Pros are, I like my job, it's school hours, it's worthwhile and it pays reasonably well.

Cons. Oh, the cons.

I'm not making a huge amount. In fact I make barely anything, due to nursery costs. This will change obviously.
I have other things I want to do ... I have got really into some voluntary work, and I could help out more there, I want to do some more voluntary work with animals but don't have time.
The house is a mess.
I have another interest I want to develop but really don't have time.

Any thoughts? I made a vague enquiring about PT but was essentially told NO.

Why is that the case with the pensions contribution?

If you pay National Insurance for 10 years (I think) then you are entitled to at least some state pension. You also probably have a pension scheme at work.

You get that through CB as well though don't you?

You do get state pension contributions through CB; the pension issue is only relevant if you are paying into a workbased or private scheme as well.

www.gov.uk/new-state-pension/eligibility
www.gov.uk/national-insurance-credits/eligibility

Never mind, I think you get National Insurance class 3 credits if you claim CB which count towards your state pension. That will give you £155.65 per week when you retire.

But you would still miss out on your pension scheme at work.

Have a feeling that the CB related pension contributions only apply til the youngest DC is 12, but check that as I don't know for sure.

Slightlyperturbedowlagain Yes you're right.

Thanks for that. I don't know. Obviously you need to think of retirement but then also of the here and now.

You cannot rely on the state pension. There is no saying it will be there when you retire. Think about it. Everyone is now expected to have a work place pension. Why is that?

The other thing to think about with your pension, is double check this though as it might vary your deal will be better than someone else that joins in say 3 years.

Isn't retirement age 69, is that right?

Plus if he's so bothered about having a clean house and not bothering to lift a finger he could pay for a cleaner.

Depends when your born.
But by the time you hit 49 it could change again. Think retirement when I started working was 58. Think it's now 67 lol

It's mess more than much tbh [smile ]

I think the state pension works as follows:

You need 35 years of NI contributions. I almost have that already. 10 years of that 35 can be at home looking after a child. That gets you the 155 a week from your retirement age. State retirement age varies. Mine is 67 (I will be up to 20 years older than some posters) and younger people might well have a 69 retirement age for state pension. Your actual employer is not allowed to force you to retire unless you cannot do the work any more though and I work for myself so can work until I die if I choose.

Most peopl;e who have worked all their life will get the £155. However I will get less as I chose to contract out of SERPs but the pension I got from that instead is the same so no difference (except I'm cashing it in from personal choice).

Separately and gradually all employees (but not the self employed like I am) are being automatically enroled in a new second pension they pay into and their employer does so you get a bit less pay. YOu can choose not to be in that if you need the cash now instead although it can make sense to save up for when you are old.

If you will never earn much and think the welfare state may continue then you may be better off opting out of auto enrolment as without it you may get housing benefit and pension credit in old age whereas if you save you don't (pretty difficult issue of course.......)

Thanks for explaining that, Enormous.

hurting I say keep working. As pp said you pretty much do work part time doing school hours, and once school starts properly you'll be much better off financially, and be able to afford luxuries for you and the kids. Weekend time doing paid for activities and so on. If you've young children you're probably quite young.... would you propose to ever go back to work again? Your income is the engine room of your wealth, I really, really wouldn't want to write it off early. It's not just retirement, once kids are at school with you working and putting away you could be earning summer/half term holidays abroad and enjoy a higher standard of living. Get back to work on Monday, head down and start making career headways!

I'm not making a huge amount. In fact I make barely anything, due to nursery costs.

Does your DH not contribute to those costs? Does he do his fair share of childcare and housework? I see you say DH thinks it would all be smoother if someone was at home. I bet he does, then he has you at home to do all the drudge. No way would I be giving up my job.

Volunteering is a nice thing to do but it doesn't seem sensible to give up a part time job which fits in with school hours to do it.

We do go abroad, my income makes very little difference in all truth and honesty. If anything we're worse off holiday wise due to being tied to school holidays. That's another reason DH prefers if when I don't work.

Well he's going to have to get used to paying the inflated prices, because once lol starts school there will be no option.

You're working part time but it feels like full time as you don't have any time to yourself as, when you're not working, the DC are around and you need to parent them. Working school hours with young children can be really hard work! However, as the children become more independent, have after school clubs etc you will get more time whilst still be around after school & in the holidays and able to be there for them at the random times they need it.

Get a totally full time job and then force your husband to take on his full share of stuff or hire an au pair or child minder to do school collection and you get out there and earn more than your husband. I earned 10x mine and it rocks!

Did you use to post under a different name, ET? I could swear this sounds so familiar...

If not, congratulations! There are at least two posters who outearn their partners by tenfold on MN.

Not really, the fine you get still makes it cheaper really.

My hours are classed as full time, I appreciate some of you have different longer hours but honestly it is full time as far as it goes,

No it's really not full time. I work the same hours. Full time was a lot harder, hence I now work the same hours.

Yes, you keep saying this, but my contracted hours are full time, and I am in every single day.

If you think most 9-5 jobs, well mine is 8:30-3:15. So one hour fifteen minutes than a "full day." Over a week that's six hours fifteen minutes only on Tuesday we have a staff meeting for an hour and a half so four hours forty five minutes so call it 5 hours for arguments sake less than a "full working week". And I have work at home too. And yes I know it's a lot easier than many jobs but that's not really the point.

But you get all the school holidays off?

I guess you can call it what you like but unless you start work at 7am and leave at 3pm, no way can that be considered full time.

So your DH wants you to be the house drudge, so he can book cheap holidays outside of school holidays, which of course you won't be able to do with children in school unless he's happy to pay a daily fine. You haven't told us if he pays half of current childcare fees or does his share of housework and childcare and I'm guessing he does neither.