Advice please (no state pension)

Zorillo

Sorry for the long post.

I am deeply concerned about a close friend of mine. He doesn't work, and hasn't for approximately five years, and he lives at home with his parents and is supported entirely by them. He is in his mid 30s. He is not unwell, as far I can tell, but he lacks confidence and motivation to work. He does not receive benefits, or sign on.

He indirectly 'inherited' some money from a relative but he is yet to receive it. He has turned down offers to 'set him up' independently with this money, so at the moment it sits in his father's (the actual beneficiary of the inheritance) bank account gaining a little interest.

His position currently is fairly tragic, but I fear his prospects once his parents are no longer able to support him are truly dire.

What would you do to try to protect his long term financial position with the money? I had recommended investing it in a private pension or LISA as he essentially has no interest in receiving it currently, but a recent thread on here has got me wondering if buying as many missing NI years as possible would be a better use of the money? Is this even possible? To the best of my knowledge there is about £20k available.

Marcon

Your concern is admirable, but I wonder if he and his parents will see it as bordering on interference? The parents are possibly at their wits end and may not welcome outside 'suggestions' however well meant - or they might be hugely grateful.

This man is at least 30 years away from state pension age. Who knows if the state pension will even exist by then?

Might be better to try and persuade him to sign on, which would at least ensure he gets credits towards state pension - without touching the capital he has been offered.

Zorillo

Thanks Marcon. I've appealed to his common sense regarding signing on (or better still, getting a job), but he's still where he is.

Let us assume his parents are on board with my request for advice.

Tom99

Did he work full time before? If he is not ill then his parents supplying his every need is only extending his problem, maybe the handouts should stop or taper out over a few months.
Maybe he is ill but you cannot see it and his parents can.

Brynsam

Zorillo wrote: »

Thanks Marcon. I've appealed to his common sense regarding signing on (or better still, getting a job), but he's still where he is.

Let us assume his parents are on board with my request for advice.

Why not ask them? They are the ones who are allowing this state of affairs to continue and it might be instructive for you to understand why (or indeed it might be instructive for them to consider the point).

Zorillo

Yes, he has worked before. I would guess he might have seven or so years NI years racked up. My concern is that's all he'll have.

Regarding illness, there is clearly a psychological problem. But he refuses to engage with doctors, so he's not diagnosed with anything or eligible for any support.

I'd like to avoid discussion of his parents enablement of the problem. They are where they are, and to suddenly throw him out would likely exacerbate his problems.

ermine

Zorillo wrote: »

Yes, he has worked before. I would guess he might have seven or so years NI years racked up. My concern is that's all he'll have.

If that's true, and your prognosis that he will never work again in the next 35 years is also true, then he could do worse than buy three years NI contributions at some point over the next 35 years. Although he could achieve this by signing on, I believe you have to be available for work so go through the whole punitive Universal Credit experience, which is designed to screw up people with normal mental health by making them feel crap about themselves, so possibly unwise in his case at the moment.

The reasoning being you need at least 10 years NI contributions to get any state pension at all, though this could change in the next 35 years. An inheritance has to be massive (way over £1M in my estimation) and invested very carefully to carry someone from their mid-thirties to death, and not having the guaranteed annuity like element of the State Pension makes the job tougher.

Otherwise - well, not your circus, not your monkeys IMO. All parties involved are adults. And if you're going to deliberately ignore certain aspects of the problem

Zorillo wrote: »

I'd like to avoid discussion of his parents enablement of the problem.

then you reduce your likelihood of success anyway. His parents approach is a significant part of how this fellow has got to where he is, even if it is a passive enabling role.

xylophone

He might check his state pension position.

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

https://www.gov.uk/voluntary-national-insurance-contributions

His parents might then choose to release the money to make the contributions on his behalf.

Oddly enough, I know of an almost exactly similar case although the offspring is now around forty.

I suppose that in course of time the parental home may be inherited and that ultimately nobody will be allowed to starve - presumably some form of state assistance will be available?

Zorillo

Thanks Xylophone. Yes, if we assume the parents home isn't sold for care then he'll inherit half of it. He's got an estranged brother that will presumably inherit the other half. But he can't live in it and off it at the same time!

xylophone

In this case too, there is an elder brother but because of his particular circumstances, it is unlikely that his parents would choose to leave him anything that was not in discretionary trust.

But as I say, ultimately, nobody will be allowed to starve.