Have I left it to late to set up a pension

[GandTfortea]

I’m nearly 50 ,stay at home mum ,no pension ..
How much would I need to save a month to have a pension at retirement age ..
Have I just left it to late
Which is a good company to go with

Following with interest

I’ve not worked in 20 years 2 dc with SEN at home full time with tutors .Assumed I would share my husbands ,but most likely we will get divorced,

It’s not the perfect position but it’s better late than never! You’ve got about 18 years of good saving.

Firstly, check if you’ve got sufficient NI contributions for the state pension, you can check online. If not, top that up.

Then in terms of a private pension save as much as you can really! Assuming you’re not employed?

I can’t advise on a good company as mine is through work, but good luck.

This website is really useful

www.which.co.uk/money/pensions-and-retirement/starting-to-plan-your-retirement/how-much-will-you-need-to-retire-atu0z9k0lw3p

Do you anticipate working?
If not then you can only contribute £3,600pa (gross) anyway.

For sure set you your own but also if you do get divorced absolutely make sure
That you get half of your husbands pension

Better late than never. The “how much” question is a bit how long is a piece of string.

Have a scroll down on this link and have a play with the calculator to orient yourself as to what is required to achieve different pension amounts.

Depending on whether you have a partner, own your home, and whether you are likely to beed to claim benefits of pension credit in future, your other option is to fill ISAs.

Once you’re orientated, and have done initial reading, it is probably worth getting a professional opinion.

www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/tools/pension-calculator/stewd?defined_benefit_income=0.0&dob_day=25&dob_month=8&dob_year=1992&gender=male&other_income_income=0.0&pot_10=0&pot_1=0&pot_2=0&pot_3=0&pot_4=0&pot_5=0&pot_6=0&pot_7=0&pot_8=0&pot_9=0&pot_employee_contribution_currency=0&pot_employee_contribution_currency_frequency=monthly&pot_employee_contribution_datatype=currency&pot_employee_contribution_percentage=0.0&pot_employer_contribution_currency=0&pot_employer_contribution_currency_frequency=monthly&pot_employer_contribution_datatype=currency&pot_employer_contribution_percentage=0.0&retirement_age=67&salary=30000&salary_frequency=yearly&salary_range_salary=30000&salary_range_salary_frequency=yearly&tax_free_lump_sum_percentage=0

@Movingonup22

For sure set you your own but also if you do get divorced absolutely make sure That you get half of your husbands pension

100% this

Firstly check how many years you have paid in for the state pension, you may be able to make up for the missed years. You need, at present, 35 years of paying national insurance to qualify for a full state pension, but it will tell you how much you should get. I have a couple of small company pensions that I don’t make contributions to and a company pension that was started about 5 years ago. I got made redundant and now don’t work, but I am continuing to pay into this pension as it’s topped up by HMRC and hopefully will be better than sitting in a savings account.

In addition to the a few advice. Please get a great solicitor if you do divorce!

Get a full time job, between now and 67, with a company with a good pension scheme. There are barely any final salary pension schemes left now, but I know civil service, police etc is more likely to give you a career average scheme. Or try a corporate company which contributes a large %. My company contributes 20% of salary and I cam contributes whatever I choose on top. I don't particularly want to work for my company, but needs must when it comes to securing your own future. I really wouldn't want to rely on anyone else.

Following as I need to build my pension

@Chasingsquirrels

Do you anticipate working? If not then you can only contribute £3,600pa (gross) anyway.

Not a financial advisor ……But if she isn’t working, or more precisely earning income, there is no point her really saving into an actual pension pot. A pension was a no brainier if you have income, you save into pot gross of tax so is very efficient and then you can have a 25% tax lump size at retirement. But if you pay into the pot form someone else’s income then that is already after tax(net) - no savings to be made, and you are limiting your access to money and products you can get. Better to save income after tax into something like a stocks and shares ISA. You can use that as a draw down pension, it is protected from capital gains or income tax on any income you take form it, better in some ways than a pension that will charge tax on your income if over personal allowance. In effect you are still investing into a pot- just like a pension, but can have more control. You can find funds that have cheap admin costs- less than a private pension. You can spread your risk in exactly the same way as pension providers do , by a mix of low and mid risk funds. Spread money over multiple funds. Use a fund “Supermarket” platform like fidelity, Charles Stanley, etc (plenty out there). That way keeps admin costs low.

My big advice is an appointment with the government scheme through “pension wise” . Make a free appointment and talk through your situation and get a good understanding of what your option are.

They’ll also Explain about independent financial advisors …but if you don’t have a lot to save each month it’s a mute point if they will help much vs you doing own research and reading on line- lots of great resources out there.

@GandTfortea

I’ve not worked in 20 years 2 dc with SEN at home full time with tutors .Assumed I would share my husbands ,but most likely we will get divorced,

1. Ensure you claim a pension sharing arrangement during divorce financial settlement or he settles payment in kind on you.

1. If you aren’t working a pension isn’t necessarily the right product for you. Look at stocks and shares ISAs. See my comment further down. Pension have massive tax advantages but only if you are earning income yourself, and have added benefit as employer pays in as well. If you don’t work that isn’t going to be applicable. BUT yes, start saving now into an ISA , every little helps but at your age you need to start to stack away serious cash.

1. Put any pension settlement from divorce straight into either a pension pot or ISA . Do not put it off, use for other things etc. you are going to need it and will regret not having got it. Prioritise this above buying a house etc if needed.