We have no pension provision yet

Lally

I am a stay at home Mum and my Husband works abroad, we have no pension provision though. I am 33 and he is 32, he doesn't pay tax as he is away for most of the year (I travel back and forth) His (foreign) company offers no scheme.

Off the top of my head, I think we could afford to pay about £200 per month towards saving for our retirement. I am thinking ISAs at the moment. But having it all linked to the stock market scares me, and the low interest rates makes me think a cash one would be worthless.

I don't intend to go back to work any time soon. If any time, it will be at least 5 years (once baby is at school)

Any ideas? (oh, I worked in personal pensions for 5 years which makes me want to avoid them like the plague)

EdInvestor

You would probably be best to devote spare money to paying off your mortgage faster at present (depending on the interest rate you are paying). As you say, cash rates are very low and the markets are very volatile.

You may like to check your state pension forecasts here:

https://www.thepensionservice.gov.uk

Overseas workers can pay voluntary class 2 NI to keep up their state pensions, which is very cheap. But as those retiring after 2010 only need 30 years NI for their state pension, it may not be necessary at your age.

It's worth maxing out your stocks and shares ISA allowance every year (7,200) even if you don't invest the money immediately, as if you don't use it, you lose it.

dunstonh

oh, I worked in personal pensions for 5 years which makes me want to avoid them like the plague

Give your assumptions on where you can invest and what a pension is, I suggest you review your opinion. There is no logic in what you are saying.

JayZed

I don't really understand your concerns about personal pensions. You're prepared to invest your money through an ISA but not through a personal pension? You can put your money into (more or less) the same products in either wrapper - the only differences are the way in which tax relief is applied; the point at which you have access to the funds; and the fact that a pension provides income rather than capital.

However, in your current circumstances neither an ISA nor a personal pension is likely to be appropriate.

As your husband is not a UK resident for tax purposes, he cannot open an ISA himself. You could open one in your name (assuming you are a UK resident), but you would need to take advice on the tax implications of him transferring money to you.

As for a personal pension, given that his employer doesn't make contributions and he won't get any tax relief on contributions that he makes, it really doesn't make sense to open one at the moment.

I suspect that if your husband is going to be working overseas for the next few years, your best bet will probably be to keep your investments offshore. What you really need to do is take advice from a financial/tax adviser who specialises in expatriate issues. It will cost you a bit but will probably be worth it.

EdInvestor

This company is one of the few offshore advisers which can be recommended.

https://www.offshorerebates.com

MrMicawber_2

Personally, however you decide to do it I'd start putting whatever money you can towards your retirement income now, especially if your mortgage is repayment or if it's interest only and you have got something going to ensure it ultimately gets paid off.

The earlier you start saving / investing for retirement the better. You are a little slow off the mark at your ages so I'd get cracking.

Lally

Thanks everyone. We have a tracker so we are overpaying at the moment. The idea is to pay it off quickly, we paid off the last one in 8 years.