DH needs to start a pension

[Cicadasounds]

Self employed hand to mouth. Not financially literate. Either of us. He Is now saying that the global stock market is going to crash due to Trump so he doesn’t feel comfortable investing in a pension. I need him to focus on not having any pension provision. I have no idea what the stock market will do. We have DC to think about. Is there a calm, accessible online course he can do?

The next stock market crash is always coming.

Since the early 1980s, there’s been a greater than 5% slip in the S&P 500 Index in every year but two (1995 and 2017).

A 10% to 20% “crash” is usually recovered in 8 months.

We had a 20% drop earlier this year due to Trumps Liberation Day tariff nonsense. That is now history. I know someone whose portfolio fell by over £100k that week, but now he has recovered all of that and made a large gain on top - all by yawning through the drop and doing nothing.

Stock Markets are always volatile, and it is the volatility that makes the upside much greater than for example property over the long-term.

With investing nobody can time the markets, not even Warren Buffett. The majority of the gains in the stock markets are made within a couple of weeks of the biggest drops. People panic and sell after a drop and then miss out on the recovery which is where the real money is made.

Most people need to invest like Warren Buffett has instructed his wife to do when he is gone, simply use low-fee passive index trackers.

Investing is for money you don’t need for more than 10 years.

What @PapaSatanicus said. Especially this:

Most people need to invest like Warren Buffett has instructed his wife to do when he is gone, simply use low-fee passive index trackers.
Investing is for money you don’t need for more than 10 years.

And use a low fees platform, like Vanguard or - if you want access to other funds and investment trusts - AJ Bell.

(There may be others, but these are the ones I’m familiar with. Do your homework.)

A tenner a week with 20% from the government (too early to do a calculation) I know if he paid in £8 a week it would be topped up to £10.

Then there is 17 years of investing and as it won't be a huge amount he will have the option of taking it all out at once.

Take a look at Rebel Finance School. They are really good at explaining things and have a free 10 session course on YouTube.

When they talk investment- pensions are just a form of that. I wish I’d known what I’ve learned 20 years ago, I’d probably already have retired!

He Is now saying that the global stock market is going to crash due to Trump so he doesn’t feel comfortable investing in a pension

I'd recommend showing him this video, it really explains well why the fear of a stock market crash being just around the corner can be so damaging

If there is a stock market crash it's the perfect time to act and chuck in as much money as possible. If it goes down 30% that means if you buy an index you getting everything in it 30% cheaper that's a good deal! The only people who should be worried about a stock market crash are those about to retire, but they should be planning accordingly.
One possible option to just get started is to open a Sipp with a provider and buy a Target date fund that's is designed with your Retirement Date in mind.