NI/pension contributions when unemployed

[PensionPolly]

Not sure if this is the right place to ask, but let’s give it a try…
I was made redundant about 5 years ago and decided not to return to work, potentially for the next few years. DH got a pay rise around the time I was made redundant and so financially we were and are fine. I have primary aged children, so am enjoying being there for them before and after school, and not missing anything. I will more than likely return to work when they start secondary school, but might study/retrain initially, so could be another few years until I consider returning to work.
DH and I claim no benefits.
Upon hearing that I am not working, a few people have said to me “But what about your national insurance and pension contributions?” I’ve started to look into what it could mean for me as I get older because I haven’t been contributing all this time since I finished work, but I can’t find the answers I’m looking for, or find what I can do to make these contributions now if I can, despite not having a job.
Does anyone have any ideas or can point me in the right direction to enquire?
Thank you.

If you claim child benefit, you are covered until your youngest is 12

Do you claim child benefit?
Are you able to pay into a private pension?

No, don’t claim child benefit. Yes I could pay into a private pension. Just want to see what my options are and the best way to go.

Start claiming child benefit even if your OH earns too much and you end up paying it all back through tax.

If you go on the Government Gateway you can see your NI contributions history, and how many years you need to contribute for a full State Pension.
As for a private pension, If your DH is a higher rate tax payer it would be better from a financial POV for him to pay more into his pension as it will reduce his tax bill.

You won't get automatic qualifying years unless you claim child benefit. Register for a Government Gateway Account and see how many qualifying years you have and how many more you need. Register for child benefit and just put it to one side to pay back if your DH earns over the limit.

There's a lot of mythology/misinformation about 'paying your stamp' and how quickly you need to act if (eg) on long term sick or out of work.

Start by using gov website to check you NI record https://www.gov.uk/check-national-insurance-record

You might also want to check your pension prediction.

If you get Child Benefit then, while your kids are Primary age, you should be credited with NI so that your Pension and possibly other benefits are covered.

If you've missed out and there are gaps then it may be possible to buy years in or, if you've not had credits and should have, to get mistakes put right.

Yes that’s exactly why we weren’t doing.
So is it him or me who claims this? Sorry if that’s a stupid question. And are you able to explain why that benefits me? Thank you.

Thanks for the comments so far, that’s really helpful and I appreciate them

It's the parts in bold that are important:

https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit

• an allowance paid to you for each child - you’ll usually get it every 4 weeks
• National Insurance credits which count towards your State Pension
• a National Insurance number for your child without them having to apply for one - they’ll usually get the number shortly before they turn 16 years old

If you choose not to get Child Benefit payments, you should still make a claim to get the other advantages.

Claiming Child Benefit automatically gives you National Insurance (NI) credits that count towards your State Pension.

You claim it. He pays it back through self assessment , either some or all of it depending how much he earns.

OP, you can register for child benefit and opt out of the payments if you wish. Saves doing a self assessment tax return each year as you don’t actually get the money but you do get the other benefits.

https://www.gov.uk/child-benefit-tax-charge/stop-child-benefit

Interesting, thank you. I’ll have a look into that.

Pay in to a pension 100%. As mentioned you could claim CB and then sort it out through tax. But that’s just the state pension and that’s not till 67 at the moment.

But a word of warning my friend took 12 years off as a SAHP, her husband is a walking cliche and ran off with a younger woman. She is in negotiation regarding equity and pensions. But she needs a home right now, children are late teens and classed as adults and this is when many couples split up. Three of my women friends divorcing so far with older children. She is agreeing to take less of his pension for more equity but will still need a mortgage, one small enough for her to afford. She had been back teaching for 2 years when he left but obviously her career break means she was way behind on promotions. This is why it’s such a huge risk. Everyone says go 50/50 for equity and pensions. But what’s that 50/50 going to be? Just don’t be a SAHP without pension provision.

I'm not sure if this still the case (my youngest is now 12 so it was couple of years back) but DH - SAHD - was able to register for child benefit for the purpose of getting his stamps but we didn't get the actual payments as I'm a higher tax payer.

Saved having to faff with tax bills

You dont even need to claim it. Just regsiter for it and click "i dont want to be paid" you get the credit but not the CB ££

You can pay £2880 a year into a SiPP & the government tops it up to £3600. Do this each year as a minimum if you aren’t working, otherwise you could really struggle in future. No one wants to just live off a state pension.