Pension.....any advice

[Kindnessandcourage]

Not an Aibu but need some help. I was wondering how to go about pension account for stay at home parent. These current times have got me worried so turning to you all for your suggestions.

might be worth checking the money matters board www.mumsnet.com/Talk/legal_money_matters

or maybe even MSE?

If you're not in paid employment, make sure you top up your NI contributions every year so you will be eligible for the full state pension when the time comes.

Further two cents… the main benefit of my pension plan is that my employer contributes twice as much as I do. If you aren't employed, you might be better off investing your money into something tangible such as a rental property that will give you an income when you retire. (Whether this is a good strategy also depends on how old you are now.)

Get on the Money Saving Expert Pensions thread and post there. Don't be put off by some of the threads about million pound pensions! You will get great help and questions answered.

you can open up your own Self Invested Personal Pension.

SIPP you can open one at Hargreaves, or best invest or Vanguard.

I would probably go with vanguard - check jack Bogle.

if you put 80 in the Gov will give you 20 free.
there is a limit on what you put in as a SAHM but if you are not wealthy and not earning then you can probably only put less in - i think the limit for you to put in is 2800 over the tax year.

You need about 100 or so to open one up.

If your children are under 11 and you are claiming child benefit, then your NAtional Insurance stamp will be being paid. You can check your record on the government’s website:

www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

For a private pension, you really need to see a financial advisor, which will cost around £300 but will save you far more than that over your lifetime.

Your main options are either a Lifetime ISA (the easy option) or a Self Invested Personal Pension (the harder option as you will need to manage your own investments, to an extent). Read up on LISAs and SIPPs and see which you think you would be comfortable with.

The main advantage of setting up a pension is that the government adds in the tax (even if you’re not earning), so for every £80 you put in, the government adds another £20.

You can take out a personal pension. You can also consider a LISA (or another form of investment like a property as a PP suggested, but BTL landlording is now being disincentivised through tax). This is a bit out of date but has useful info:www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/business-37450982

Here's a government guide to personal pensions: www.gov.uk/personal-pensions-your-rights

Basically, the important thing is to be saving regularly from an early stage for retirement, and not in cash - you need something which is not going to get eaten away by inflation. You will need to do the sums a bit on what option looks best for you. Make sure you also keep tabs on any employer pensions you may have once paid into. The earlier you start the better, so it has the chance to grow and compound.

op you do not need a FA - most people but their money into a selection of about 5 or 6 funds.

Steady safe index funds - which are a little of everything, you can buy Vanguard Life strategy funds of different risk eg bond 20 % 80 % equity....

I have a Vanguard 100 and Vanguard 80, and some index funds and one or two gamble funds eg using an actual fund manager like fund smith. eg higher risk after lots of research this is what most people do.

Following !

Making prev link clickable! My kingdom for an edit function www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/business-37450982

Not all financial advisors charge. There maybe fees associated with the investments but they are taken from within the funds themselves, so no upfront costs.
Definitely worth speaking to one to find out your options.

Just google as well, and then cross reference any funds you choose eg - vanguard life strategy and look at its rating on morning star.

www.vanguardinvestor.co.uk/what-we-offer/life-strategy-products?cmpgn=PS0220UKPASLS0001EN&s_kwcid=AL!11156!3!419394763155!b!!g!!%2Bvanguard&gclid=Cj0KCQiAlsv_BRDtARIsAHMGVSa_dUydxlSuWdB7odIsg6VeJ8h9qBK5nK5RV7w2nhrtX9qd8Pn4lrQaAtYfEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

www.morningstar.co.uk/uk/screener/fund.aspx#?filtersSelectedValue=%7B%22analystRatingScale%22:%7B%22id%22:%225%22%7D%7D&page=1&perPage=10&sortField=legalName&sortOrder=asc&universeId=FOCAN$$ALL

Thank you for some lovely helpful suggestions. Taking notes and looking up all your options.

I don't claim child benefits so any suggestions on how to go about Ni contribution?

@Kindnessandcourage

I don't claim child benefits so any suggestions on how to go about Ni contribution?

Why aren’t you claiming child benefit?

You should be “claiming” child benefit even if you don’t actually receive any money due to you husband being a high earner. Then you get the NI credits.

If for some reason you really can’t claim child benefit then use the link I gave above to check your state pension entitlement. For years where you haven’t made enough contributions there will be a link for how to pay for that year. This is assuming you live in the U.K.

As PP said, as a SAHM you REALLY REALLY need to be "claiming" CB even if your DH's income is high enough that you don't receive it, because it gets you NI credits. It can be backdated, but as far as I know only by 3 months. If your DH is a high earner, you can either claim and repay every year or make only a notional claim where you waive receiving the actual payments but still get the NI credits.

How long have you been out of work? How old is your child(ren)? How many years of NI contributions did you have before you stopped working? And please say that you are married... If you have holes in your NI contributions history then I believe your first priority is to buy extra years of that, as it's better value than any personal pension or investment.

Thank you, I had no idea. I will look into claiming child benefit s asap.

@biddybird

If you're not in paid employment, make sure you top up your NI contributions every year so you will be eligible for the full state pension when the time comes.

How can you top up your ni contributions if not in work?

If receiving CB does that mean i am making NI contributions?

@Sup1979

If receiving CB does that mean i am making NI contributions?

Yes. If you are out of work but claim CB, even if you don't technically receive it, you receive National Insurance credits.

You can top up your NI (and check for gaps) by making voluntary contributions. All info here: www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions

How can you top up your ni contributions if not in work?

You make payments directly to Inland Revenue. The information is all available on Google.

@Sup1979

If receiving CB does that mean i am making NI contributions?

Yes, it should do, but for heaven’s sake do check your state pension entitlement to check if you are being credited correctly and if you have any gaps.

www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

You’ll need to sign up for a Government Gateway account if you don’t already have one.

@Panickingpavlova

you can open up your own Self Invested Personal Pension.

SIPP you can open one at Hargreaves, or best invest or Vanguard.

I would probably go with vanguard - check jack Bogle.

if you put 80 in the Gov will give you 20 free.
there is a limit on what you put in as a SAHM but if you are not wealthy and not earning then you can probably only put less in - i think the limit for you to put in is 2800 over the tax year.

You need about 100 or so to open one up.

They will only give you 20% if you are a basic rate tax payer. If OP is SAHM it is unlikely she’s earning over personal allowance to be taxed. In which case she gets no tax benefits. She is better going for a simple ISA that will protect from capital gains but not tie up her money into a pension that is then subject to income tax when crystallised. OP, go to MSE and post there and research with pension advice Uk to get informed information. You can also have 30 mins free pension consultation through Gov pension uk - look into that as they could lay out your best options for your situation. Pay first into NI Contributions though or ensure you are getting credited if parent or cared. That gives you a guaranteed income an investment that can go up and down

@biddybird

If you're not in paid employment, make sure you top up your NI contributions every year so you will be eligible for the full state pension when the time comes.

Not necessary as long as she is claiming child benefit.