To ask what I'll do for a pension?

[LIareggub]

I worked full time from leaving school at 18 until I was 26 when DD was born. The plan was to be a SAHM then go back to work when she was older. However I was diagnosed with a chronic illness when I was in my 30s which means work isn't possible. I'm now 51.

DH has always worked, but we can't afford to pay into a private pension/his workplace pension as we only have his salary (around £25k) coming in. He's 40 so does have many years of paying contributions to go, touch wood. But we can't imagine being able to afford to pay into a private or workplace pension at any point.

I know I haven't paid enough contributions to be able to claim a state pension, and I'm not going to be able to pay anything else in now. So what will I do? Is there any kind of pension credit I'll be able to claim? Obviously DH will be working well into my pensionable age, so how will that affect everything? And what if the worst happens and something happens to DH, will I literally have nothing at all to live on when I'm older?

Ugh. One more thing to keep me awake at night (and it frequently does).

The thing is pension credits are a political decision to top up those who don't have enough state pension.

There's absolutely no guarantee they'll still exist by the time you need to retire.

You need to look at your state pension forecast to find out how many qualifying years you have and then get advise as to how you meet the 35 years contributions requirement.

I know and understand you can't work. But I'm pretty sure there are ways around that. You could do something self employed (I think) and then voluntarily pay NI contributions at a different (lower?) level (I think).

It's time to dedicate time to researching this problem to find a solution.

Are you able to spend lots of time on a computer?

I thought NI contributions for a sahp were paid until the child was 12.
Could have changed.

Thanks for all the advice everyone.

Ironically DH works in benefits (UC, not pensions). So we know we're not eligible for any UC.

I have RA so it's not just physical pain, it's fatigue/drugs side effects (I inject drugs weekly and the side effects wipe me out for two or three days a week) that make work impossible for me. Also I have no recent experience or references anyway so a wfh-type job is a total pipe dream. I would love to work and feel like a complete burden, but that's another thread!

We can't afford to pay anything else in right now. DH had a promotion recently so has gone as far as he can salary wise for a good while yet (the next step of the ladder is much more senior and pays about £3k a year more, but that's a way off).

We rent from a HA and have about £2k in savings.

Have you had a look at the Money Matters board there is a £10 a day thread where people do various online work, it’s not a proper job but surveys, online moderating and other tasks.

it might be worth seeing if you can make a bit which you could then use towards buying your government top up years.

Money Saving Expert also has similar threads and loads of information of finances.

I have been at home and found I could make additional contributions to my state pension. It's definitely worth doing. Ring DWP, they send a form to fill in, then you find out what your contribution record is and how many years you can buy back. There is a time limit but it's massive.

Does that mean if you worked for at least 7 years pre-kids, then had 18 years of child benefit, you’re good to go for a full pension, even you don’t work again with no ‘official’ disability, as OP is?

I don’t have enough NI, but still have years of Child benefit to go, so I’m confused about whether to top up or not (not that I can, atm)

You need 35 years of qualifying payments. So 18 plus 7 isn't enough. It's 10 years short.

OP please look in to NI credits.

You get NI credits until youngest child is 12. So if there had been a big age gap between children plus some pre-children work that might equal 35 years?

NI credit for looking after children is only until age 12. Once at secondary school I suspect the expectation is you don't need to be a stay at home parent anymore and can return to work.

Please reapply for PIP. And get help doing it. The CAB will have a specialist advisor to help you fill it out. (I'm one!)

If you can't work due to health you should be able to get pip and a pension credit. Why have you not looked into this. Your DH's employers should have self enrolled him into pension unless he opted out. DH should still get state pension based on paying NICs. If he were to die you could claim small state pension based on your DH contributions. You will just get Pension Credit which basically pays you a minimum amount to live on even if you have not paid NiCs.

Your husband really needs to put himself into his workplace pension. To not do so at 40 is the height of stupidly. Any amount is better than nothing.
Your husband is supporting you and your child with absolutely no considering for himself when he can no longer work.

You need to look into things for yourself. How much NI contributions does it actually work out as?
Can you get a remote job?

He needs to join workplace pension. It's literally free money.
Can you work remotely part time ?
Also If DH has been working for 20+ years and is still only earning an entry level salary, can he look for other opportunities ? Not sure what the job market is where you are but again there are lots of remote opportunities

I also would appeal pip.
Assuming your have a rheumatologist ? And doctors evidence/ paperwork if you're on MTX or similar ? You could write to your local MP for help appealing maybe ?

Just been prompted to check my state pension forecast because of this thread. I'm 6 years short so looked into buying back years. The cheapest one is £95, the next is £365 and the rest are all in the region of £800 plus, so not a few pounds as mentioned previously. I can quite understand how the OP can't find the spare money to do this.

It’s a household benefit.

I applied a few years ago but was told I didn't qualify for it. I have rheumatoid arthritis and can't even walk to the bathroom without help some days (and I live in a flat so there's not even any stairs to contend with) but even so they said no.

Did you appeal this? Based on your description it very much sounds like legally you do qualify and should have been receiving that money all this time.

Thank you. Sometimes I despair of my maths!

Thank you

He was automatically enrolled into his workplace pension scheme when it started, but we were left so short he had to opt out after a couple of months. Unfortunately it's not stupidity, it's necessity. Many of his colleagues are in the same position.

I would love a remote job, but there are no entry level wfh positions here. Particularly not ones which employ someone over 50 who hasn't worked since the Spice Girls were in the charts and needs two or three days off a week (at least) sick.

I know he's supporting.me (not DD anymore obviously), I feel absolutely awful about it every single day.

Definitely reapply for PIP and look into support for your application. Im working at a very reduced capacity at the minute and put £100 per month of my PIP payment into an SIPP pension account.

Like others have said look into other ways you could work, if you need to put a plan in place to be eligible for this type of work youre better off making a start now otherwise you’ll still be in the same position in a few years time. For example, do you need to start volunteering or take a free course so you have a number of people to call upon if you need a reference.

As said. Make sure the child benefit is/Was in your name. If not you can claim them back. We did it but was a pain but worth it.

Workplace pension should be the priority for your husband.

That Seems reasonable. Thank you. (See above re: maths!)

please reapply for PIP than contact charity that deals with your specific health issues - they may have someone who helps with filling in the forms or have a link to another charity who can help you
When you fill in a PIP form fill in EVERY question & copy any paperwork that you have from your doctor or any form of therapist or support - keep a daily log of your difficulties (think of the form, self care, cooking ect difficulties) always considered your worst days note how your husband or others help & how your condition has worsened over time. Refer to the paperwork you provide about your specific difficulties & do not be afraid to repeat specific problem that causes you issues in different ways to other questions. provide the names & contact details for any person/professional that has helped or been in contact with you (include housing officers if you have been in contact with them) I stapled individual letters & put letter A, B<C & page numbers so I could refer to p. x form A, (DD has Aspergers & other issues & I had some advice. You CANNOT write too much information - a quote from Support Charity advice)

It's very far from entry level where we are. He's worked up his company from when be started there 12 years ago to get where he is. He's working remotely currently.

Thank you for this, it's really helpful.

I didn't appeal the decision when J was denied PIP because I thought there was no point. I've since found out a huge percentage of decisions are overturned.

I think my problem was I told them what I could do on my best days (walk to the local shop, cook dinner) which are far rarer than my bad days. I thought that's what you had to do - I was terrified I'd get done for benefit fraud if I didn't. Also the man who did my assessment couldn't even spell rheumatoid arthritis and didn't know what it was, which may not have helped.

Anyway that was a few years ago and I've deteriorated since then, so perhaps it's worth applying again.