Advice needed ,pensions ,or rather lack of

[summerpug]

I’d be glad of any thoughts or advice ,on what I should do ..
im a stay at home mum ,to a number of children/ adults.
two have SEN ,and won’t / extremely unlikely to live independently .
im 50 ,I’ve not worked for 25 years.
im married ,with a home worth £425000.
morgage paid off .
But
I’ve no pension,not a private one .husband has various pensions and just says he will share his with me .
but in reality how will that work …what if he goes in to a rest home ,while I’m still living at home with no money to feed the two adult children living with us.
what if I wanted a divorce
is it to late at 50 to start a pension
I’ve been so wrapped up in sorting out everyone else’s need I’ve neglected my own in so many ways ,this is just one of them .
thanks for reading
I have name changed for this ,as I’m really embarrassed I’ve let myself get in this situation

You can check your state pension entitlement here https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension. If you have been receiving child benefit, this will count towards your entitlement.

If you remain out of the (paid) workforce, the maximum you can put in a private pension is £3600 pa (£2880 you pay in, the rest from the government). Over 17 years with a reasonable return this could give you a pension pot of about £100k, of which you could take 25% tax free and use the remaining 75% to bump up your income from the state pension. (£75k might give you around £3k a year).

Have a look at https://www.moneyhelper.org.uk/en/pensions-and-retirement

If you divorce you will be entitled to a share of your husband's pension.

Have you checked that you are receiving all the benefits you are entitled to for your children and yourself as carer?

I didn’t put any money in a private pension,because there was no spare money ,the situation is still the same ,no spare money .
the dc get pip and I get carers allowance,but it just goes towards the food bill

I think carers allowance gives you a credit towards your state pension- hopefully someone who knows more about it can confirm.

Is there any way you could do some paid work now or are your caring commitments too much?

If you’ve no spare money, there isn’t really much you can do. Would your DH pay into a pension for you? Can you work part time?

In a couple of years I could work ..the youngest is at home full time having education at home .so once that finishes I could work

Firstly check your state pension entitlement. Many people reach retirement age with only the state pension. Some don’t even have the full state pension and usually qualify for pension credits.

Your disabled children should be receiving their own benefits, if they continue to live with you that money would go towards their living expenses.

Is divorce likely? If so your husbands pensions are included in the financial settlement.

You are mortgage free at 50. Well done that’s impressive. In the future you could possible downsize or move to a cheaper area to free up some money. Not always straightforward but it does give you options that others don’t have.

My actual pension situation isn’t as good as it could/should be. However I have property that I can sell and other savings I can access. I tend to look at the whole picture as my retirement fund. I could kick myself for not being more savvy with having an actual invested pension and missing out on the 25% gov top up. But I made other choices which may or may not pay off. I am 54.

As a previous poster said, it's really important you check your state pension forecast. And asap. If you are missing years you can pay to reinstate them but only until next month.
Check the terms of your husband's pension and what would happen to it in the event of his death too

Thankyou
my husband’s pension ,I’m named as beneficiary if he dies ,and my state pension is up to date ,it wasn’t,but I paid in money a while back ..
I didn’t honestly know that some people get to retirement with only the state pension,I thought everyone had a workplace pension or private pension.
I honestly don’t know why I didn’t fight harder for a private pension,I’m emotionally drained from caring for my children,fighting for EHCPs and fighting for special schools ,my children had years and years out of education,where I had to teach them myself,whilst also having to fight the LEA to give them an education..it’s been utter hell ,and everything to do with me has come last

You are 50 and have a house worth £425K, but no mortgage. All on one income? That’s some going OP, most people would love to be in that position financially. Sadly, its too late to retrospectively make financial arrangements for your own pension, but you can still start one - you can’t afford not to!

If your DH does need care when her older, and assuming your DCs are still at home with you as their carer, then a financial assessment would take this into account. You would also be expected to claim benefits to support yourself though.

I suggest that if any of your DHs pensions have a lump sum element, that money is split into separate accounts for you and him so your share cant be touched.

You could of course get divorced - then you’d likely get the lions share of the house, plus a share of HIS pension???

Are you happy in your situation or do you want advice about leaving?

That ship ( leaving) sailed a long time ago .
im just thinking what happens if he meets someone else ,
where I live half the money from the sale of the house will barely buy a 1 bed flat ..we bought a house and had children very young .
I didn’t mean to be insensitive,I know a lot of people would like to be in my situation house wise .but Frankly I’d happily swap if it meant a normal life .

Could you look at getting a part time job when your husband is at home for the DC or look at the make £10 a day thread. You could set up a small SIPP with that money?

It might not give you a large pension but might get you started

Due to the government department being unable to cope, the deadline has been extended until 2025.

Your husband should pay into a pension for you as well, it would make sense to use up both your personal allowances with pension income.

If you haven’t worked for 25 years, it’s not likely that there would be any benefit to putting money in a pension. You don’t pay tax so at most you could put £2660 a year in a scheme. If you don’t have any money to do that anyway then it’s not like you can do anything about it. Don’t worry- you’re in a good financial position generally. Just try to make the most of it.

It’s not likely to be of any benefit to her for her husband to pay into a pension for her. He will get tax advantages and employer contributions for his payment’s- she can’t contribute to a pension above about £220 a month.

re personal allowances- the state pension will use hers up so that’s not an issue either.

Do you know the details of your husband(s) pensions? Does he have defined benefit or defined contribution schemes?

Not sure why PP is suggesting that there's no point putting £2880 (£3600) into a pension. Over 17 years that will add up and the additional income on top of your state pension will be well worth having. (Obviously this is no good if neither you nor your husband has the money to put in.)