Private Pension as a Stay At Home Mum

[deathbecomesherhead]

DH earnings are high (100 k per year) and he provides for us as a family

We have family money / account which I have full access to

I have no money of my 'own' per say but access to full family money and savings

I never clicked the box on the child benefit that stated to keep pension credits as I don't qualify for child benefit I never filled anything in

I have not earned a salary via a company for 7 years now.. so have missed out on pension credits / earnings..

What would be best for me to move forward in my situation? How best to look after myself financially here??

Of course I don't want to rely on DH finances all my life and do envisage going back to work at some point in the next year or so..

I would recommend paying into a private pension up to the tax free limit every year.

Pensions are now subject to inheritance tax so if your husband does pass first, you could lose a good chunk of his pension to tax.

Might be worth moving this to Money Matters. You need to check if you will jave enough NI contributions to qualify for state pension, you can do this via a gov tax account which you can set up online. If you have contributed for enough NI years then you pay to make up the shortfall. You can also pay so much abyear into a private pension even if your not working ( I think it's around £2800 plus the government will add tax relief)

You need to talk to an IFA. For example, it might be better for him to increase contributions to his pension rather than start one for you, because he gets higher rate tax relief at 40% and his pension is part of the marital pot. In the event of a divorce, so you’re protected. But changes in IHT for defined contribution pensions might mean that’s not a good idea in case he dies. So best to get expert opinion

If you look on the Government website you can access your National Insurance record and see what years you currently have gaps.
If necessary you can pay voluntary Class 3 contributions towards your state pension.

At the moment it's possible to go back several years but this might change in April this year, the government has extended a deadline a couple of times already.
With that in mind I'd strongly recommend phoning the future pension helpline and ask their advice on if you should pay any missing years and if so which ones.

Spouse exemption from inheritance tax will apply, so as you are married, you do not need to worry about that aspect.

If you still have kids under 18 then tick the box now apply for child benefit and tick the right boxes to get the credits
never clicked the box on the child benefit that stated to keep pension credits as I don't qualify for child benefit I never filled anything in

It's not a great idea to rely on your husband's private pension for both of you.
Ok it can be included in a divorce, and if your husband died you might be entitled to a percentage of it. The other scenario is if your husband needed care, the state can take the whole of his pensions plus any savings that are solely in his name.

Definitely start claiming child benefit and see to what extent you can back date it. Dh earns over the threshold. I still claim and he pays it back. It means I claim a bit more personal spending money for myself (in addition to my NI credits) as I’ve always been the lower earner of the two of us.

Thanks all

DH seems to think his work and private pension is for us both

It might if you remain together but will it be if you separate it is split 50/50?

I'd claim CB (you can opt to not receive any actual cash) for the NI contributions, just in case the rules about NI contributions and state pension change.

You need to get that box ticked sharpish and get your state pension contributions - see if they can be backdated.

Husband seems to sort his investments and his mums retirement money out but not mine... I've realised a fair bit here :/

The upper limit is age 12, not 18 for the NI credits part of CB.

It can be. As you are married it would be split in the event of a divorce. He just needs to be putting in at least 20% total. As it is the statutory amounts are 3% employer and 5% employee, which IFAs say isn’t enough even for one person. If he’s saving for you both, he needs to be putting away 20%