SAHM and pension

[Marroon]

I’m probably being unreasonable to ask here to begin with but if you’re a SAHM how are you saving for a pension?
Anything that’s a better or worse option from your perspective?

Not ideal but when I became a Sahm pensions were not something you found add to. I went back to work eventually and all my salary went into my pension - I made pretty good progress over the last 10 years.

What are you paying it from if you are not earning anything? It all sounds very tax efficient but where is your concomitant contribution to society?

Something to bear in mind - since your husband can put up to £60K into a pension and get tax back on it/not pay the tax on it if via salary sacrifice, it may be worth ensuring he uses this full allowance so that you get extra pension provision as a household (in the event you split you’d be entitled to half under the financial settlement.)

It is not ‘his’ pension, you should be clear on that. It is a family asset. Also if he dies you get all his pension - tax free. That said, I appreciate your position.

Hmm that’s shit and a good argument to have access and control.

Depends who he has put as beneficiary to his pension. It wouldn't auto go to his wife if he has other beneficiaries named

It is at the Trustees discretion and I can assure you they do not cut the wife out if she were to make a claim under dependency.

Where do you get sipp? I am new to all of this and want to start a pension pot for myself.

I didn't say the wife would be cut out but it isn't auto.

If you are so committed to having a good pension, why don't you just work instead of relying on your husband to work for you and then expect him to pay for your retirement?

I may be wrong on this, but if you are married, are you not entitled to share everything?
I am assuming you are both in agreement that you are the one who is best placed to be with your child.
So when you are one day retired, surely you both share everything?
In the worst case scenario and you split, half of his pension is also yours?
If you have spare money together, you can set up a SIPP in your name. Or you could put money in a stocks and shares ISA. Both have tax benefits.
My husband and I are now a few years from retirement and we will pool everything to share. He has more in pension, I have more in savings.

What a short sighted comment made with only a small part of OP’s story. She shouldn’t have to justify her family arrangement to get the financial advice she asked for.
Lots of marriages are partnerships where one person takes on responsibility for income and the other takes on non financial responsibilities, or one partner may be ill themselves.

I am not sure you are in the UK.
Dufferent rules in the U.S.

It counts as your 'stamp' for those years but you would still need to contribute years of work as well.

I have clearly hit a nerve! What you describe here is a world away from your previous posts. Perhaps if you had explained your situation more, you would get better advice. We are not mind readers - your situation is clearly very different to women who choose not to work (but still expect the world).

As an aside, I would explore both you and your husband going part time so that you can share the caring responsibilities whilst both maintaining your independence and protecting your careers (and pensions).

You’re back tracking now because you’ve been called out on your shitty behaviour, it’s not a world away from my previous post at all because I made no mention of my situation, my question was and still is financial. I’m choosing to be a sahm and asking advice on what other women do to secure their finances. Whether you think some reasons for being a sahm are more or less valid is your own prejudice.

Why are you so rude?

@OutOfTheOtherSide I was working after having my first child then bam, medical condition that altered my entire life. I medically retired in my early 30s. That wasn't the plan. As I was a parent to a child I then became a SAHM. Not everyone actually chooses to be a SAHM but as I knew I wouldn't be working again I embraced it and tried my best to make it like a job to me.

As for pensions, ISA and SIPP for the free Government top up. I claimed Child Benefit to get my state pension NI credit.

I am now in my early 50s and am retired because no employer in their right mind would take me on. I am currently hooked up to a TENs machine to manage my pain. Luckily for me Dh is amazing, loving, caring and very generous financially.

You are right for planning and saving into a pension.

Too many SAHMs put their careers in hold and don't plan for the future. This is why you are likely getting push back because they don't see if as a family income and jointly protecting both adults in the family.

No advice but good luck.

It's much better tax wise for you and DH to both work less than full time, and share the childcare. You pay less tax and will be eligible for more benefits like tax free childcare, child benefit and funded hours. In this day and age it is a massive risk to take many years out of work. The job market is incredibly competitive even for people who are working. Even though your marriage gives financial protection in the case of divorce, you would need an income to run your own home in that scenario. I do recruitment and I am turning down many amazing candidates every day who are overqualified. No way you'd stand a chance if you've been out of the work world for years.

It’s totally “possible”, you just won’t get a tax break for it.

Make sure the child benefit is in your name, so you are credited the NI contributions automatically.

DH can pay £2880 into a SIPP for you. Make sure you choose a provider with low fees, and a platform you feel happy using. And do some research on where you invest within the SIPP. General advice would be a low fee global tracker. But you can branch out from that to a greater or lesser degree depending on how much risk you want to tolerate, the level to which you want to manage the investment. There's an investment board on here if you want to mull that over

Also check your previous work pension, and make sure you're happy with how that's invested. The default fund is often low risk, low reward. Which isn't the best choice before 50

I'd also look into opening a LISA if you're young enough, or a S+S ISA and getting DH to pay into that any extra that can be spared. Again choose where you want to invest the money.

In the long run it would be much less beneficial for us both to work part time. Once you hit the stage where you’re working 2 days a week you pretty much can stagnate in your career. DH and I both work in project based work and just wouldn’t be selected to lead anything if we weren’t working a full week.
Things like tax free childcare are irrelevant because as I said we can’t use childcare.

No way you'd stand a chance if you've been out of the work world for years.

I just don’t believe that I’ll never stand a chance to work again because I took a few years out after 15 years in a degree based profession. A different role, maybe an adjacent industry but the idea that you’ll never work again is scaremongering imo.

That’s interesting, I’m didn’t realise I could make changes to my existing workplace pension. All things go look into over the next few months to make sure I’m making the right decisions, thanks!