Unmarried - does it matter?

gayleygoo

I know very little about pensions, I'm currently a SAHM so I don't even know whether I have state-pension contributions at all! DH is paying into his pension through work (Royal Mail), but knows very little about what any of it means. The pension deficit of RM is rather large so I don't expect he'll recieve anything in 40 years time :undecided however I'd like to ask what would happen to his pension if he were to not make it to pension age? (Not that I'm planning on shoving him off a cliff or anything :rotfl:) I've heard that pension companies will pay out to married spouses, but not to unmarried ones - is this true?

Lokolo

Not 100% but I am pretty sure that if you both make wills then you are more than likely to be covered.

However, best bet is to ask the pension provider.

http://www.royalmailpensionplan.co.uk/79/active-members

Or looky see here.

jamesd

Workplace defined benefit pensions like the Royal Mail one tend to only pay out to spouses, not those who are not married and not in a legal civil partnership. But do check the specific rules to be sure.

If you are getting child benefit you're getting one year of state pension credits for each year you get it. If DH is getting the child benefit for some reason you should get it switched to you so you get those credits. You will also have 3 years of juvenile credits if you weren't working as a young person. Best to find out what you're entitled to so far by asking for a state pension statement.

Private pensions and work defined contributions pensions do normally get fully transferred to a spouse if the first person dies before taking any money from the pension. When they convert the pension pot to an income they can choose different ways to do it, some will make it fully transferable (income drawdown), others it'll depend on the choices made when buying an annuity, that can be nothing or 66% or various amounts in between; buying those benefits for the spouse decrease the amount paid out at the start.

If not married you should also try to provide for yourself if the DH dies. Without a will the rules of intestacy normally mean that nothing goes to the other person unless they are married, except a home that is a joint tenancy (not rent type of tenancy) or joint bank accounts. A home owned as tenants in common gets split according to the split of ownership at the Land Registry, normally half to the survivor and half to the estate of the person who's died. A child of the person who dies would normally be first priority to inherit the rest, regardless of whether they live with them now or, say, an ex partner. A child just living with them who is not theirs and not adopted would get nothing. Lots of simplifications and approximations in this paragraph but it's a decent overview.

So yes, not being married and not being in a civil partnership means you have to take care of things that are normally automatic if married and there's a good chance of getting nothing at all from a work defined benefit pension, even if you try to prepare for that.

atush

Or, you could just get married?

dasherman

If he started working for Royal Mail after April 2008, he won't be in the defined benefit final/career average pension, he'll be in the defined contribution version.

http://www.zurich.co.uk/royalmaildcplan/home/introduction.htm

zzzLazyDaisy

To be honest, being an unmarried parent places you in a much more vulnerable position legally, than if you are married to the child's father, in a number of ways. Some of those issues can be mitigated by making wills (which you certainly should do) but this does not address all potential issues. My own view is that where there are children in the relationship, and especially if the mother is a SAHM with no independent income, it is always better to marry than not, unless you have strong personal reasons for not wanting this.

Dunroamin

gayleygoo wrote: »

I know very little about pensions, I'm currently a SAHM so I don't even know whether I have state-pension contributions at all! DH is paying into his pension through work (Royal Mail), but knows very little about what any of it means. The pension deficit of RM is rather large so I don't expect he'll recieve anything in 40 years time :undecided however I'd like to ask what would happen to his pension if he were to not make it to pension age? (Not that I'm planning on shoving him off a cliff or anything :rotfl:) I've heard that pension companies will pay out to married spouses, but not to unmarried ones - is this true?

There's no such thing as an "unmarried spouse" and it's a bit confusing when you refer to someone you're not married to as your DH.

CLAPTON

Being a SAHM doesn't stop you getting a pension forecast to see what your state pension will be
see here
https://www.gov.uk/state-pension-statement


You really need to read up details of the royal mail scheme; it's an excellent scheme and now taken over by the government so it will pay out in 40 year time.

with pension funds it is sometimes the case that one has to 'nominate' who gets any benefits on death... has he done this?

Potentially a awful lot of money is at stake here so it's worth a bit of effort to find out the full details.

xylophone

http://www.osborneclarke.co.uk/publications/services/pensions/alert/2013/payment-of-survivors-pensions-to-unmarried-partners.aspx

might be of interest.

wen2202

Royal Mail pension allows you to nominate a person to receive benefits after death.

Here:
http://www.royalmailpensionplan.co.uk/93/death-benefit-nomination-form

Make sure the old man fills it in.

I have.;), unmarried as well:o

Also the government are taking on the RM deficit ..... they have to really as the Tory government of the past allowed RM to have the big payment holiday that they've had.

kidmugsy

wen2202 wrote: »

the Tory government of the past allowed RM to have the big payment holiday that they've had.

"Allowed"? They insisted that firms stop overfunding their pension schemes. It proved just as foolish as it seemed at the time - a triumph of the government-employee mindset over reality.