How do I start saving for a pension at 51?

[Malinia]

I'm 51 and I don't really have a pension. I worked PAYE from age 19 to my late 20s so I have some pensions from those times but after that I went self employed and somehow never set one up, then I had to stop working because I have a disabled child and I'm her carer.

My husband has a pension, and my parents are well off and have told me I don't need to worry, but they are starting to need care and I know how expensive that is, and I think I need to sort something out. I do think I will inherit a decent amount still as they own property and have investments, but I feel vulnerable relying on that.

Where could I calculate how much I would need to put into a pension now to have something worthwhile in 15 years time? We have some savings we could use I just don't know where to start.

Oh right, I don't even know what this means but can look into it. What's the tax liability for?

His income tax on earnings.

This is wrong. If he pays into a pension for OP the maximum that can be paid in is £2880 and it will be increased as if OP were a basic rate tax payer to £3600. Her husband won't get any tax deduction at all. He only gets his tax back on money he pays into his own pension.

This is far too negative given that OP will have full state pension entitlement. £100k in a pension (which is perfectly possible if she can save £300/month) and drawing 4% would make a huge difference to her standard of living.

You can purchase a care annuity package after selling the house to ensure that not all of the money gets used.

I think it was a fair comment.
It is not my fault you don't want to make sacrifices for a pension.

Depravation of assets sounds far more exciting than it has any right to.

@SkipAd it’s really not always a good idea to start a pension in 50s? Why?
I have. For various reasons I only started this year. I’m a Ltd company and now earn 100k. I’m throwing 3k a month into it to make up for lost time. Is this not a good idea?

What I meant was, saving a small amount which provides a small pension (say £50 a month in retirement) can mean that you are then just over the earnings limit for means tested benefits like pension credit etc.
In your situation, £3k a month for say 15 years is well worth it, but obviously that’s unusual.
Sorry for the confusion.

No, Martin Lewis says it’s half your age at the time you start. So if you start at 50 you should be putting in 25%, and that 25% includes the employer’s contribution.

Irrelevant to the OP as she still can’t put away 25% (and I don’t think she has a salary). But someone else might read that and get the wrong idea.

@SkipAdok thanks. I’m thick as mince about financials (hence why I’ve been wasted so much time) so I was worried I’d done the wrong thing. I’m 51 so you think I’ll be ok? Planning on working til 67.

I do think you’ll be more than ok if you can sustain the £36k a year. Back of fag packet numbers. £575k put in. Say compounded growth of 20% (should be a lot more) £700k in your pot at retirement.
Rule of thumb, take 4% out per year. Around £30k a year.
If you’re not worried about leaving much of it you can take more than 4% a year, but with the caveat it could run out before you want it to.

As an aside, you did say you’re a limited company, Is the company paying your pension, or are you paying it out of your salary? Not being patronising but you said you’re not good with financials so just checking.

Actually 4% of 700 is actually £28k of course but like I said, you should get better growth than I suggested and you can take more than 4% a year (with the caveat it may run out sooner than you’d like) if you need more.

And finally, then I must get on. Martin Lewis is doing a private pension special on tv tomorrow night which I expect will be worth a watch.

not patronising at all. I’m terrible at stuff like this - I have other gifts though. 😊.
i pay from my company account. Should I be?
I know I need an accountant but they just talk a foreign language to me and I ended glazing over and thinking about dinner or something lol.

Or MAFS! lol

Love MAFS!!!
Are you doing your own company tax returns then, if you haven’t got an accountant?

I was going to. I only started trading in dec 2025

I would really recommend getting an accountant. My husband had a limited company with a turnover of about £200k and I “did the books” and love paperwork and understanding tax etc. but wouldn’t have done the company returns myself. The regulations are quite complex.
Again, not being patronising and you might already know this but as a limited company, the money in the company isn’t really yours, it’s the company’s and access to it needs to be notified to HMRC via payroll.
In the meantime, yes you can put money in a pension via the company, it comes off the bottom line before you pay corporation tax.

Sorry, I hope I’m being helpful, I just don’t want you to get in trouble for something you don’t know. You have registered for corporation tax?

I don’t know if I have. I am a Ltd company. I assumed I would just get the forms come tax time. I have to register for corporation tax do I?
I have a separate business account and everything goes in and out of there. I use Quickbooks. It seems
to be doing the work for me.

As a limited company you need to register for corporation tax within three months of company registration. You may have done it when you registered with Companies House? I would double check on their portal

I checked and I did. zero recollection of that! I need an accountant dont I. Im too ditzy for this stuff.

Well, it’s good you’re registered but yes, I think you should get yourself an accountant 😊
If you want to DM me, I could find the name of the guy we used to use. I’m in Essex but obviously everything can be done online/over the phone. I found him very straightforward to deal with.