Not earning - can DH pay into a pension for me?

[YellowStockings]

The title says it all really. I’m not earning at the moment (studying & homeschooling DD). At the moment we’re just about managing to make ends meet on DH salary, but he’s changing jobs and will be earning a good chunk more soon (not Mumsnet rich 😅 but we will be comfortable and be able to save a bit).

I’m ashamed to say I haven’t paid into a pension since I was 26 (now 37) - I know this is awful, I’m very stressed about it, so please don’t tell me off too much!

I have two questions:

1. does it make sense for DH to pay into a private pension for me?
2. could he do this tax free?

Wider context: Once DH has settled into his new job & knows how much he will need to be in the office, we will likely look at moving cities, which will annoyingly mean taking on a bigger mortgage. So cash in our pockets / savings feels important and useful - but then so does ensuring I’m OK should anything happen to DH in the future!

Of course you can get a pension and he can pay into it. Why wouldn’t you.

You just take out a private pension and then your husband can pay it.

If you are not earning you or your DH can put upto £2880 into your personal pension and you will get basic rate tax relief added to make it £3,600.

Oho! This is great news, thanks - will look into this asap.

I’m not sure what pension I even have at this point, I probably need to look into the dregs from different jobs from my early 20s and see if I can consolidate these.

Need to give myself a firm kick up the backside and get organised!

I know, it’s so silly really - it just hadn’t occurred to me that he could pay me a pension himself! But typing this out I realise how dim I’ve been…

(That said we really haven’t had the spare £ to do it until now)

Yes. Also into a LISA, which you can withdraw at 60.

Are you claiming child benefit? Even if your husband is a high earner please make sure you are claiming. You dont have to take the money just as long as you have the claim open you will get NI credits until your youngest is 12. This will count towards state pension entitlement in the future.

I am, yes. I’ll definitely keep the claim open for the NI, even though we’ll have to pay it all back.

Oh this is also a good nudge, I keep meaning to open one - only have a few years left until I turn 40 and can’t! Even if we can’t put much in it it seems a shame to turn away the free govt £…

If you have to pay it ALL back, then I believe there is an option to just claim the NI credits and not receive the money in the first place.

Yes he can - I agreed to be a SAHM for 10 years and it was one of the things I was adamant should happen.

You can’t pay any amount you like into a pension if you are a non-tax payer. The limit is given above by another poster.

It’s a relatively small amount pensions wise but may still be worth doing for the tax relief. Although the funds will not be accessible until you are 57. I think it’s marginal as to whether you might be better having ISA’s in your own name. You won’t get the tax relief but they are accessible and money is tax free when you withdraw it unlike a pension. I guess the danger is they are accessible and the money could be used for other stuff before retirement.

I did not know this! Great tip, I’ll look into it. Thanks!

These are all v good points, thanks.

I think where I get a bit uncertain is weighing up our (quite high!) need for cash at this point in our lives, with a 10yo who we may one day need to pay for schooling for and a possible increased mortgage on the horizon, vs our need for cash 20+ years from now when we will hopefully be in a more stable position and I’ll be working again.

That said I do think we need to be better at planning for our futures, and I do worry!

The one thing I would say is you do need some money/savings in your own name. The pension is good in one way as you can’t touch it for more immediate needs. And of course if and when you go back to work you would be able to increase contributions and benefit from more tax relief.

Ufortunately governments keep messing around with pensions and savings which makes it more difficult to plan

Thank you. We do have some joint savings (under both our names) but they are mostly in our mortgage offset account, and may well get heavily used if we do a big move. So we will def also be paying into savings when he starts his new job and things feel a bit less tight!

Yes I think in a marriage/relationship you just have to keep discussing what is fair when it comes to money and how it is shared between the earner and the non- earner. We have to do it for different reasons other than children as I retired early due to ill health. I do still pay into my SIPP at the level allowed for a non-tax payer but I do have cash savings that are accessible too. My husband has a lot more in savings but I think that’s fine as he is working. I have enough. But age makes a difference to the balance.

We are about 7 years ahead of you, we did the big move and also now pay for private school.for our youngest. The other two are very expensive teenagers with driving and uni possibly on the horizon. We have very little disposable cash and only about 3 months expenses in savings which makes me very nervous.

However, we have never stopped our pension contributions and when I see how much they have grown I am so glad we have a bit of short term pain now. We still don't have enough but at least we are halfway there and will hopefully have options at 60 rather than working till we drop.

Honestly I would put something in a pension, even if its just £100 per month. You can never afford it if you think too much about it

This is very motivating and reassuring, thanks. I really don’t want to get 10 or 20 years down the line and regret not saving more now.

Going to have a long tough look at our budget and see where we can save £ so that at the very least DH is paying me a pension, and we can still put aside some more accessible savings.