Over 50 and no pension

[NameChangedAMillionTimes]

Hi, I've been ill in bed for the last few weeks and have got really depressed about life in general - inevitably I guess . Too much time to naval gaze. I had an acrimonious split from an abusive ex who I wasn't married to. I'm left with primary aged children and no money. The court process cost me a small fortune - to leave an abusive ex who I wasn't married to, who would have thought.

Anyway, what I'm worrying about is that I'm the wrong side of 50 and I don't have a pension. I have paid NI contributions but don't have a private pension. Is there any hope for my old age? I'm looking for work and am looking for jobs that have a good pension rather than what I want to do. I haven't worked for a decade because of caring responsibilities, then kids, and then the abusive relationship.

Any advice? I do own my home with a small mortgage so that is one good thing. I think I always thought having a property from when I was single would be my pension and I would work and have my own pension and then being in a relationship with children then we would go into old age together and share life and living and all would be ok.

But life has dealt some seriously bad cards in the last decade plus and I ended up leaving work to look after a family member who died, had already met ex who then took advantage of me financially as well as the other abuse. So my savings were depleted and he milked me of everything I had - my friends, my money, my family, my life, my soul, my very being - I have no idea who I am anymore, anxious, scared, cant trust people. Im left with no family, no friends, and no job. I'm feeling so depressed about life. Please be kind as I am feeling really shite about things.

If I could get a job with a pension, will 15/20 years of working left give me a life afterwards? My own parents died early 70s so sometimes I just think "Only got 20 years left so stop worrying"..

I havent advice but like you over 50,divorced, although my kids are teens with SN, with no real private pension. I had one which I was mis sold and what was recovered is frozen and it is worth a whole two thousand pounds it will not go far in living costs for retirement.

I can see I will have to keep working part time after retirement as long as I can.

Have you made enough contributions for full state pension? Do you earn enough to pay off your mortgage and at what age?

Sorry to hear about your circumstances.

It is good you are thinking of pension now, as it gives you some room to plan.

You can login to the gov webs to check what state pension you will be entitled to and at what age.... or starters.

In terms of starting a private pension, nearly all pensions now are "defined contribution", so you and your employer pay into a pot... then when you want to draw money, you buy an anuity based on what you save. you won't know what pension you will get exactly until that time. Obviously, the more you can save the more it will be worth.

Your circumstances will define what skills you have in terms of getting a job and what your earning potential is for living now and paying into a pension.

You may have to think about what jobs you could do later in your 60s, if you need extra income... that would not be physically difficult etc.

Are you looking at public sector jobs? That will give you a better pension if you plan to work for next 10-15 years.

Check your national insurance contributions on gov.uk too.

It sounds like you’ve had a really tough few years OP.

Yes it’s a shit situation, but you do own your home with a small mortgage - when will it be paid off? Not having to worry about housing costs when you retire is good at least. Could you consider downsizing too once your mortgage is paid off, to release some money? Or moving to a cheaper area?

What sort of work have you done in the past? Would your skills and experience transfer well into a role in the NHS or the civil service, that generally offer good pension schemes?

Also, as you get older it may be possible to reduce your working hours so you’re still bringing some money in but not working 40 hours a week in your late 60s/70s. I think that’s what a lot of people will be facing soon anyway, sadly.

You have 10-15 years ahead of you to save for retirement. Once you’ve found a job, throw as much as you can possibly afford to into your pension - with your employer matching it too, you still have time to save a good chunk of money.

I think there are more women than you might think in this position, me included. I shall be depending on state pension, a v.tiny frozen pension, my own house/may downsize. Being a single working parent with no CS it was a choice of keeping roof over all our heads or pension. No brainer really.

You'll be ok, OP, you're thinking about it now rather than at 60+ & just need to get some advice & work out your strategy. Owning your own place is the most important thing. You have that sorted so your basic security is in place. I know people who earn a good extra amount with lodgers & dog & cat sitting just by using that. Depending on where you are, there is a real shortage of staff atm so you could start a new career with training that would allow you to work your own hours as you get older. I was chatting to someone the other day who is doing a librarian's course in their late 50s. And it was on the news that Rishi Sunak is going to offer those 50+ advice on getting back to work as they're needed for the economy so there may be targeted help coming this year.

Agree with Work2Live 're looking at jobs in the NHS, it has a good pension scheme, and they actively recruit ahem more mature employees. Admin / clerical are always needed, and training in the computer system is given. Good luck!

I'd look at public sector jobs like nhs/ local authorities as they generally have the best schemes and then pay as much as you can afford. Can you downsize in the future?

If you don’t get a full state pension you will probably get Pension Credit or whatever the equivalent is then (if you don’t have lots of private pensions).

Currently Pension Credit for a single person is almost the same as the State Pension and then there’s Council Tax benefit.

With respect to the basic pension arrangements it’s either work and get the basic state pension or don’t work and get benefits.

If you work then you can top that up with personal/work pensions. Be careful not to have not enough NI for the state pension and a good amount of personal pension - i.e. make sure you get the most state pension you can first and foremost - use the gov pension forecast website to see where you are.

If you didn’t own your home you would get Housing Benefit. In your position I would view your house ownership as something to help set your children up when you pass.

I have an elderly relative that lives a decent life on Pension Credit, housing paid for etc. No fancy holidays etc. now but a decent life nonetheless.

Have a chat with a financial advisor

Having a house and paid up NI is great news and something to be positive about.

You’re in a better position than you feel you are, I’m sure. Own house with a small mortgage - sounds like you’re on track to pay that off before retirement.

Even if you saved nothing more for the next 15 years, you’d have a state pension and no mortgage, and could top up income from board from your then adult children, or a lodger. So don’t despair! That’s better than many.

Good luck!

"If you didn’t own your home you would get Housing Benefit. In your position I would view your house ownership as something to help set your children up when you pass."

So if she doesn't have children, she'd be better off not owning?

Sorry you’re in this position OP.

My advice would be to look at jobs first that come with a DB pension rather than a DC pension; these are places like NHS, local government, civil service, schools etc that have basic admin type roles. Often places will have schemes specifically focussed on getting parents back into work, and as PP have said keep an eye out as Rishi has said he’s planning something aimed at the over 50s.

Look absolute everywhere. Places like Utility companies can be good as well as they have decent pension schemes even if not “as good” as DC. (I work for one and my employer doubles what I put in).

After you’ve secured a job, you should look at your budget and understand what you have left over after outgoings. If you’re tight, then you’ve still done well securing a job with a pension. If you do have money left over, then I would supercharge your pension - if you have a DB pension you should be able to make AVCs; if you have a DC pension you should be able to increase your contribution (and if it’s salary sacrifice you’ll get tax and NI benefit too!)

All is not lost. Let’s say you can only afford £100/month. With tax efficiency this would only actually ‘lose’ you £80ish from your take home pay. This could get matched by your employer at another £100/month.

Growing over 17 years if you put in this each month could give you £65K in your pension pot by the time you hit state pension age, which you could comfortably draw down to give you at least an extra £200/month boost on top of your State pension - so about £1000/month. And if you aim to have fully paid off your house by then this should be enough to cover bills, food, and a little extra for spoiling grandchildren!

Obviously the more you can put aside, the better; but the above is just an example of how even if you only think you can give up a small amount; it adds up!

On the best NHS pension scheme (1995) after 12 years service as a senior nurse I still only get £ 545 a month. I'm claiming it now so my DH can drop to a less stressful job but thank god it isn't my only source of pension.

@Dyrne Thanks so much for your detailed reply, really helps. Im finding it so hard to understand it all. Years ago when my parent died I did go for financial advice but I know now was given rubbish advice and information - he told me not to try and get a mortgage renewed at a lower rate as I didnt have a job and had been her carer - at the time it had rolled onto the higher rate of 6.1% - I know now that was such bad advice. Anyway, he also advised me "not to worry about a pension, you have your property" again, total rubbish. Anyway, I am where I am, thank you, really appreciate your time to reply.

Thank you everyone for all your replies. Its helped knowing Im not alone in this situation. Like someone else said, I was in a situation of having to decide about a roof over our heads after ex experience, and it was a no-brainer with young children to make sure we had that security.

I agree with pp who have said look at jobs with good pension schemes that may pay a bit less in salary. Local government, civil service, gov agencies.

Also look at possible ways of generating a 2nd income stream. Eg. DH loves photography and has recently turned it into a business/side hustle and earns some extra money from it.

How old are the DC OP? Having lodger/s will make a huge difference as you can earn up to 7500 pa tax free.
Even if you have a DB pension you can still have a SIPP - which may well have lower charges on it than the AVC pension.

Read up about investing so that when you save into ISAs and SIPPs you hold the right things inside those wrappers.

Depending on how old the DC are you could also perhaps do an evening or two a week bar work or similar.

MSE is really the place for this though but hopefully we've left you feeling there is hope yet.

I've just seen this thread, could you explain what DB and DC mean in pension terms please?

DC = dear children (Ithink)
DB = usually means dear brother but I think might be defined benefit...

DC is defined contribution and means that what you get at the end depends on how well the money you (and your employer) have put in has actually done.

DB is defined benefit (historically normal now rarely seen outside the public sector) and however badly your actual investments perform you are guaranteed the outcome, even if this means your employer has to top up the difference.

In terms of pensions, dc is defined contribution - you contribute, your employer contributes, you get tax relief on those contributions (effectively the Gov contributes. This builds up to a pot of money that funds (however you want to - drawing it down, buying an annuity) your pension. Db is defined benefit. Regardless of contributions, you get an amount based on your salary and years of service - usually much more generous and guaranteed.

Defined contribution / defined benefit - two different types of pension

OP some things to look at -

you can get a free mid-life pension review with pension advisory service (part of money helper, a government scheme) so you can find out how many years NIC contributions you have and what your other options are.

i don’t know what your previous employment was, but it might be worth looking for returnships if you’re getting back into work after a long break, our local council does these and can be great for women returning to work.

you don’t need a pension as much as a way of paying your bills later in life, i have lodgers, my friend who’s 80 has always had them for extra income, I have some work I enjoy on the side as well as my normal work, plus state pension and a little private pension so all together I’ll make it work probably working forever but in something I enjoy a few hours a week plus the other stuff.

See if you can find any programmes or communities that can help rebuild your confidence to go into this new stage

Yes you have time to do something that will make a difference . Once you get your job, if it is a workplace pension, pay in voluntary contributions, as much as you can.

This will get easier as the mortgage gets paid off. Be sure to save the amount you paid for mortgage!

In the end, you could always downsize to one bedroom, once your kids are grown and flown.