DH has no intention of paying in to a pension

[whattodoiwonder]

Looking for some advice on pensions please? Find the whole subject hugely confusing tbh.

(I'm not great at explaining myself so please bear with me )

My DH is self employed and does not pay in to a private pension.

I have always paid in to a pension and will continue to do so until retirement.

I'm obviously not hoping for the worst to happen, however if he was to die what would happen in terms of financial help? I know if I were to pass away then my pension funds would go to him, but what about vice versa?

He is a stubborn git and "doesn't see the point in paying in to a pension when he'll get the state pension. Live for now blah blah".

(Disclaimer; we have a lot of issues within our marriage and this is just one of them).

Is there any chance he's not paying into a pension and spending instead to hide his money in case of a divorce?
Pensions are included in settlements these days, so yours could potentially be half his.
I don't want to scare you but he is either a) completely financially foolish which is unlikely if self-employed, b) not prepared to invest in case of a divorce, c) happy to have you as his cash cow in retirement.

I don't know how your will is structured but independent advice to protect your children from a different relationship might be a good thing.

I know people are scared of pensions but it's just a wrapper with some tax treatment attached to it.

It no different really to an ISA or other type of account. Just different rules.

You do need to keep an eye on how the limits and tax parts work, but there's loads of advice available on this.

Once you've put money into "a pension" wrapper, it's up to you how you invest it. You can do this on your own or with advice, via an IFA etc. Or most platforms have default options which are usually tracker funds.

I have my SIPP (self invested pension plan) in YouInvest and I put it mainly into a fund called Vanguard as it is a tracker with low fees. Vanguard have a number of different products, I've chosen the one that I think suits me - no-one else is involved. YI do charge for holding it and for buying (and selling) units, but I only buy when I chuck a lump sum in so the purchase fees work out as a very small %.

I buy an 'accumulating' fund, which means any dividends the underlying shares throw off within the fund, stay in the fund and I don't get cash out of it - I do this to avoid having to make decisions about what to do with that cash, and this means the fund grows by dividends (as well as whatever it grows by in the market, or loses, shares don't always grow of course).

In my ISA I buy dividend paying shares and funds because I quite like having some cash now and then and deciding what else to buy with it, within the ISA (I never take any money out).

With a pension, you get tax relief putting money in - so, you have to have earned income and you pay that into the pension and therefore pay no income tax on that money (and, in some cases, no NI).

You will get taxed when you take the money out if the income is higher than the zero rate tax band in place at the time - but you can take 25% tax free.
You cannot access the funds at all until you are at least 55 (with some very rare exceptions).
If you have no income you can put in up to £2,880pa and the govt will top that up to £3,600 - why would anyone not do that!?

With an ISA, you put taxed money in, doesn't even need to be income, and you can take it out at any time, no tax is payable on what you take out even if you have invested and the amount has increased tenfold (unlikely, but who knows!).

Frankly, I would make it clear to him that if he is not prepared to save for his retirement then he will have to fund it himself and that when you retire the money you receive for your retirement is for you and not for him. A bit cheeky to think he can just not save up for retirement but then you will end up funding him when you do.

He's a bloody idiot. It's expensive being old. I'm having to work 10 years past pension age of 67 because I can't afford to retire due to divorce. This would be a deal breaker for my marriage.

Hi everyone, sorry for late replies.

My DH cannot get life insurance unfortunately. There is a 50/50 chance he has an inherited condition and the signs and symptoms don't usually become apparent until 40s-50s. Same with his siblings...they cannot get life insurance. He has one DSis who is VERY thorough in every part of her life and she cannot get it. If there was a way she would have found it!
So no pension, no savings, no life insurance.

At the moment I don't have life insurance but it's something I will 100% look in to and sort out. I know I'm silly for not having it so far.

I don't think he's siphoning money away for a divorce fund. We do have some ongoing issues but we're mostly happy.

Sorry if I've missed replying to anyone, in a rush at the moment.

Also, DH and siblings aren't paying IN to their DFs pension as such. One of the siblings have set up a savings account and the money goes in there every month. I have no idea whether his DM claimed child benefit, however I see no reason why not. So she will likely get a state pension. I can see the sentiment in them wanting to pay in to a fund for their parent's old age, however it would be nice if DH could consider his own retirement (and hopefully not expect to live off my pension, which I've put in to for over 20 years so far and will continue paying in to for the next 30 years).

Retirement is not straightforward, people are finding it hard to live off the state pension at the moment, and there is no telling what the government will do next, raise it until your 80 probably. Having said that, some sort of an investment plan would be advisible, even if it is accumulating property and selling some off when you retire. You could get an injury that stops you working at 45, you could fall on hard times, or dare I mention it, another divorce, which sucks up all your money. Dont forget, you are benifiting from being fairly comfortable now, there is a lot to say for the spend it while your young idea.

Op

What does he say if you ask him what money he is planning to live on when he is 70, 80 etc? Has he said out loud that he expects you to share your pensions and savings with him? Have you made any other long term financial plans together?

Have you thought of getting legal advice about some kind of "post-nup" agreement? I wonder if it is possible to set up a legal agreement which basically states: right, if you don't want to pay into a pension I can't force you, but, if, for whatever reason, we split up, you won't have access to my pension/savings etc.

I understand these agreements are not as binding as in the US but are increasingly taken into account by the courts.

However, I cannot stress enough how important it is you ask (and pay for) a proper lawyer. This is not something you can get to the bottom of by asking strangers for free advice.