To start a pension from scratch at 46 on minimum wage.

[mountainshone]

I have been a SAHM most of my life, I say SAHM because I have only ever worked a few evenings in a pub while husband worked days and so have no pension as I never earned a lot but we saved on childcare.

I had my first child at 17 then later had 3 children in my 30s and last at 41.
My youngest is starting school in September and I will return to work but with no formal qualifications at 46 I will only be expecting to working minimum wage.

I know I’ve had my head in the clouds but I need to work out how and what my best options are.
Nobody in real life to really talk this through with.

Husband has a pension and I have enough NI contributions to get basic state pension through child benefit.
Am I better paying a high amount of potential earning in to a pension pot and struggling on with mainly husbands wage? Is it possible to make a decent pension at this point? (I’m not expecting a lot but to be able to live)
I will also have child care to factor in so I won’t have every penny I earn.
Please only genuine advice for going forward and not what I should have done.

Maybe look at this? https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement

I don't know what advice to offer, but just want to say good for you. You are doing the right thing. Good luck x

The other option could be to invest money - conservatively and use this when you retire as a lump sum.

• look at money saving expert too. A google gave me this from AI on MSE Choose a Low-Cost SIPP: MSE recommends Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs) with low fees for building a do-it-yourself pension. High fees can erode your savings over time.

If you qualify for auto enrolment definitely go for it as the employer contributions are free money.

When looking for a new job ,try looking at what the rates of employer contributions to pension that may be available. Can make a big difference to what goes in the pot

The employers contribution is free money, and the gvt add 20% to your contribution. And then year on year the value of the whole lot increases.

So yes, save into your future employers workplace pension scheme!

Well done you! Whatever you put aside is a good step forward.

• employer contributions, make sure you match these (my employer gives 5%, so I match that as a minimum)
• Then either pay more in, or put it into a high-interest saver - only do this if you won't touch it - better to be in the pension for the tax-free elements
• The childcare costs are a shared expense between you and DH so make sure these don't just fall on you ... its not your wage that pays for this, its a joint expense like the mortgage and gas bills, so if your DH puts all his money in the joint account, you put all yours in etc so its fair.
• since he already has a head start on a pension, can you reduce what he pays in for a while so you get a chance to catch up?That might not work for everyone but having some conversations with him about joint planning helpful.

Thank you

What sort of jobs are you looking at? Feel free to ask on here for support for applying for any jobs you’re interested in. I’ve done that in the past, and found people on here hugely helpful.

Re childcare, do your children’s schools offer free breakfast clubs in the morning and/or homework clubs in the evening? If they don’t have a homework club at the school, it might be worth asking the school or local council if there are any youth clubs or cheap activities for your DC. That will definitely help reduce childcare costs, and hopefully will also be fun for your DC.

Also, just because your job in September will be minimum wage, that doesn’t restrict you to minimum wage for the rest of your working life. Please remember you can progress if you wish to. You’ll probably be working until at least your mid-sixties, so you’ve got at least twenty years of working life in you to grab the bull by the horns and save into your pension. Good luck!

I have worked in bars and restaurants most of my life but mainly so I could work evenings so I’m thinking from an experience point of view, retail or some sort of customer service but I’d be open to all sorts. I’ve been told I have a good telephone voice too but I’m at my best in a fast paced environment where there’s a bit of rush and stress.

The school do after and before school clubs (not free)

It's definitely worth looking at employer pensions as part of the picture

• anything public sector will generally be higher - lots are defined benefit schemes.
• if you are good on the phone companies like banks, insurance companies etc often have much better pensions than general private sector. E.g. I worked in one which doubled your contributions up to a max of 12% (i.e. you paid 6, they paid 12 for a total contribution of 18%)
• your own contributions will be deducted pre tax.

20 years is also a good period for compounding to have an impact - make sure you look at available funds and remember that whilst something like a cash fund is low risk on paper, it will achieve below inflation returns.

Call centres are crying out for people with customer facing experience. Being great on the phone and enjoying a fast-paced environment makes you perfect. Companies such as NFU Mutual offer above NMW, a great pension scheme and promotion opportunities too.

Absolutely worth looking for a job in a call centre like previous posters have said. They have high staff turnover they are entry level jobs, so you can often get to a senior call person or supervisor level quite quickly. How much you put into your pension is up to you, but it is well worth doing additional contributions above their minimum amount. Financial or insurance companies are a good idea for better than average pensions and opportunities to progress. You might find support with an organisation that supports women returners to the workplace too.

It might worth trying to get a council or local government job, as the pension contribution from the employer can be good. Don't undersell yourself on the work front.

DM saved 70k on minimum wage in cash over 26 years. It would be higher, maybe 100k-120k, if a) she'd invested it better b) she didn't smoke.

I did the Rebel Finance School free course which I found super helpful and it got me lot more educated on what my pension was invested in.

Also worth a look at Brave Starts.