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

[EllyRoff]

So last night I got to thinking about pensions and realised I don’t have one! I’m no longer working (I make a small amount of money through art which DH has always been supportive with). I did have an NHS pension when I was working but DH convinced me to come out of it due to the high payments. There was barely anything in it anyway so I received the contributions back. Since then I’ve made very little contribution in national insurance etc.

DH has always said I’ll be fine in retirement as we have his good pension - but last night I thought “what if he died? Does the pension automatically come to me?” Turns out that no - it doesn’t. It goes to a named beneficiary.

So this morning I asked DH if I was named on his pension - he said “don’t worry, you’d get a state pension” !!! I said “what, £60 a week? I have none pension! Am I named on yours?” He said “why don’t you start a little savings account?”

So I’m not named on yours then?? He said “of course you are, I mean - I’ll check but I’m sure you are”. I’m very unnerved by his response - firstly his lack of concern!! Secondly his reluctance to confirm that I’m named on it. He says he’ll check today.

AIBU here? You’d think he’d want me to be ok in his death surely? Especially since it was him that convinced me to give up my own pension. He is 10 years older than me so not massively unreasonable to consider he might die before me.

Anyone whose sole income is state pension is likely to get 100% (or close to it) reduction in council tax unless they have significant savings.

The house has to be.under both names and be married to that person in some statesall.hia belongings when he does belongs to the wife if both parents die it will.be for the kids or if there's no will for the government .you need to work py social security for your future if you have any disability you can get a check for it

You should double check to see if you are even entitled to full state pension to be honest...

This should be a wake up call to get your house in order...

@Greenartywitch

I can't afford to pay in a pension each month as I need every penny to survive and pay the mortgage and any house repair as a single person on a part-time income.
That's my reality. No amount of pie in the sky planning is going to change it

It's not about not understanding chronic health conditions, it's about financial self-reliance. Your situation is different to that of the OP's. In her case she is almost 100% reliant on her husband financially (apart from some presumably quite small income from her art) and he has given her financial advice which has actually minimised her financial security. He has clearly demonstrated that he doesn't have her best interests at heart and she has continued to assume that he will take care of her financial needs as she ages.

Having a health condition doesn't mean you can opt out of financial planning and being married doesn't mean you can put your head in the sand and assume someone else is taking care of it all.

I 100% agree with this comment. You dont get the state pension if you dont contribute. You have chosen not to work bar the art side and you are wondering who is going to look after you?

Never never assume that someone else will take care of you financially. Having said that you arent the only one who thinks like this but its good that you have just realised what could happen going forward.

The state pension isn't £60 a week BTW! More like £200! But you do need to have paid 35 years worth of contributions to receive it. How old are you??

You really need to sort your own pension situation out. Never rely on someone else. Coming out of the NHS pension was a huge mistake. If you’d left it there, it would be growing in value still. Start paying into your own pension asap!

As an artist you should register as self-employed - regardless of how little you earn.

This allows you to pay class 2 National Insurance contributions of £3.45 per week, or £164 a year if you prefer to pay a lump sum.

You can make voluntary payments if you earn very little. Every year you do this adds a year towards your State Pension.

You don't have to pay Class 2 NI contributions if your profit is less than £6725.00 a year.

However, by making voluntary contributions you are still building your entitlement to a state pension. Well worth doing for anyone self-employed.

You need to find out what you would get from his pension in the e ent of his death. It will be there in writing if he cares to check. I know exactly what my pensions are and what my husband's are. Not something you can leave to chance.
You need to get a state pension forecast too - from dwp. Get yourself organised!

Does your DH have any previous wives or children which are his, but not yours?
I am trying to work out if he has named a DC as a beneficiary?

@LakieLady Sorry but that is incorrect. There is a reduction (25%) as single occupant. Significant savings - you can't have more than £16K to get a reduction. It's nothing to do with having 'just' the state pension.

Good point.

That’s peanuts to live on though. Most people would need/want more than that.

In this respect, yes. On top of pension credit, she gets full housing benefit to cover the rent on her 2-bedroomed council house (no bedroom tax for pensioners!) and 100% council tax reduction. She worked for a couple of years before she had kids, and went back to work for 3 years when her husband became too ill to work.

I'm almost 70 and still working. I get state pension and my "gold plated" public sector pension is £350 a month. MIL gets load more from the state than I do!

The thing I'm most envious of is her never having to worry about the expense of any house repairs though. I've often wondered if it would be possible for me to give my house to the council on the condition that they cover the expense of fixing anything that goes wrong in return for getting a free house when I die!

This is going to sound harsh but I checked I was going to be entitled to a full SP last year and was told I was BUT i needed to keep contributing because others hadnt (or words to that effect!).

It really irritates me that people seem to think they can go and do something very enjoyable for them, no stress, no treking to the office, no getting up early and then wonder why they wouldnt be supported forever including when they reach their 60's by either partner or the state!

I think there is a grey area here.

DH and I decided early on that he would pursue a career as he was a higher earner (we're both professionals, graduates but in different areas of work.)

I always worked but part time and my occupational pension is very small.

His pension is a very good final salary pension and because I reduced my hours to raise our children (and allow him to pursue his) I am fully entitled to it after 40 years of marriage.

So I don't agree 100% that women shouldn't 'rely' on their spouse's pension when it's been a joint decision over decades as to who earns what and how.
I will be entitled to 50% of it when he dies as well as my own small occupational pension, a private pension I set up 5 years ago, the full state pension , and savings.

Why haven't you worked and saved up in a pension? How old are you?
How can you expect to be supported by tax payers if you haven't contributed yourself? You need to have another talk to your husband to see what provision he has made with his pension. Also, get a full time job now and make some pension contributions.

Surely, he knows who his beneficiary is!

I gave up work when I had DD and stopped paying into my pension (so I do have a small pension). Since then I've worked very much part-time and DH has been aware I'm not paying into a pension.

We got engaged shortly after we met and immediately DH told me that he'd put me down as his named beneficiary. Pensions have named and been reinvested since, but he's always been clear I'm his named beneficiary and how much I would get. Generally it's around 50% of what he would get. He basically wants to reassure me that I'll be ok and can pay the bills when retire. Again, we both know DH is the beneficary of my small pension, again he'll get around 50%. He took early retirement 18 months ago, and received a lump sum which has gone into joint funds - always done that anyway, but obviously it means I've got immediate access to top up funds if DH passed away.

You can apply and get an estimate of how much your state pension will be, even if you haven't paid all your NI contributions, there must be some credits from working, having children, so it's sure to be more than £60.

the comments on this do seem harsh but I wonder how your OH convinced you out of keeping your own pension? They are so important. Don’t rely on any man for money, please ensure you have your own because you never know what changes will happen.

The sole occupancy discount applies to all ages though, it's not specific to pensioners.

This is virtually impossible to read, but as far as I can tell the advice is for America - and therefore not relevant.

I'm flabbergasted and furious on your behalf op, I'm not going to say could've, would've, should've, it's a bit late for that. I agree I would also be very concerned.
As previous posters have said he can change the beneficiary of his pension at any time, also his share of your home and savings in his will, so you need to start financially planning as of now. I would insist that my NI contributions be brought up to date from the proceeds of the downsize as it was his insistence that you stop contributing to your NHS Pension which this has put you in this very precarious situation, then put your half of the proceeds of the sale into a savings plan. I would also go back to work and see if you can improve your pension in that respect and if he's inconvenienced on a daily basis because your not there looking after him tough.

Who on earth is the beneficiary, I don't think he likes you very much op if he is happy to see you living on the breadline in retirement, and think about what you can buy if all your left with on his death is half of the proceeds of your downsized home.
Another alternative is divorce the p*ick, get a good solicitor and take him for half of everything.

Has your husband not named you as beneficiary on his private pension? Most people do. Who else would it go to? Question him about that. I get some of my late husband's occupational pension and he would have received mine had I died first.

If you were left with only state pension and that wasn't much, you will be able to claim pension credit and various other things so don't worry, you won't starve but, honestly, you won't have a lot to spare. Hopefully your husband has a decent amount of savings that you would be able to draw on.

You really do need to have a serious conversation. I don't get why your husband is being so vague about it all. Presumably he wanted you to not work and he persuaded you to opt out of the NHS pension scheme. I worked for the NHS and only paid into the pension scheme for my last four years so I don't get much but, honestly, it is extremely useful - £130 pcm, not to be sneezed at. I also got a small lump sum when I reached retirement age. Every little helps. I did think of drawing it out at one stage but am glad I didn't. None of that helps you now, hindsight is all very well. Have the talk and find out what state pension you will get from Gov.UK.

Some pension schemes do not allow you to name a beneficiary that is not your spouse or a dependent. However, you don’t have to name a beneficiary at all. It depends on whether he is paying into a pension or an annuity. The fact he is being shady about this may mean he isn’t paying into anything.

@RaspberryPavlovaPlease

So I don't agree 100% that women shouldn't 'rely' on their spouse's pension when it's been a joint decision over decades as to who earns what and how.
I will be entitled to 50% of it when he dies as well as my own small occupational pension, a private pension I set up 5 years ago, the full state pension , and savings.

But that's all fine and dandy if the marriage remains in good shape. Not so straightforward if the marriage breaks down. Yes a lot of women with robust marriages and financially solvent husbands will in practice be fine but it's the lack of visibility and autonomy. Why would you leave that in the hands of someone else? However much you trust them now.

And in this case the OP's husband has already given poor and potentially disastrous financial advice. We can't know whether he's financially incompetent or deliberately sabotaging her but he has shown himself a poor judge of her best financial interests.