moving in with girlfriend no home of my own

olb81

this is a new situation for me as the subject line i am 45

i am currently renting and paying extortionate rates so am not saving anything

moving in with my new partner means i will have lots of spare money

i already have a lump sum of just over 150k on the sale of my last property and 50k in my pension

my reason for posting, is what would you do with money going forward?

i cant open an isa until next year so my interest is taxable

my options as i can see are :

-pay extra into pension, ties the money up but gets tax relief and builds my pot

• keep saving and put into isa's when possible
• buy a property in case things dont work out and let it out while i dont need it

any of these the best option or anything else?

darrensurrey

2 thoughts.

1. I'm assuming you're splitting the rent she's paying. If so, then that would affect how much you have to spend for regular stuff as well as how much you can save.
2. What would your gf say about buying a property? I assume you're not going to say "I'm thinking of buying a property in case things don't work out" which would imply you're already thinking of bailing. 😃

friolento

Your pension looks extremely weak, so definitely consider adding to it.

You say you can’t open an ISA until next year - is this because you have already used your 2026/27 allowance?

Emmia

Does your GF "own" the property you're moving to?

Middle_of_the_Road

I would have thought these were questions to ask before you sold your previous property.

Buying a property primarily as a contingency seems illogical, and the responsibility associated with being a landlord is not as easy as it once was.

Without understanding your relationship, and future plans, no one can advise as to what would be your best course of action.

Baldytyke88

Get your girlfriend to open a SIPP, and put the maximum in there, it would no longer be your money, but it would be a great gesture.

El_Torro

Is your partner's property suitable for the two of you? Does she own it? Do you plan to buy something together at some point?

I would have thought that a good chunk of your money should go towards either buying half your partner's property or towards buying something together. This may not fit with your plans though.

MEM62

There is insufficient information about your general circumstances and future plans for offer a detailed opinion. However, one point I would make is that, at 45 you are way behind with your pension provision if that is you only pension savings. You need to take a serious look at how you might catch up.

Cisco001

I suggest you keep it as cash or stock instead of pension for the first year, just in case you don't get along when moving together…

Newbie_John

Other thresholds you can use to avoid paying tax this year:

• CGT - depending on tax bracket but lets say £3000 a year - so you can invest in tracker and move it to ISA when you have a space
• Dividends - £500/£1000 available per year
• Low coupon gilts TN28 (4%), TG31(4.5%) are like fixed saving accounts tax free (though you can sell earlier although you may get less/more than you invested)
• Premium bonds - well, close to 3% + the chance for more

I wouldnt bother with properties, too much hassle in my opinion.

olb81

ok so i should add she does not own the property and is renting is via a housing association and she has one daughter living with her

i believe its her house for life providing she pays the rent

i agree re my pension, i use nest and can easily add lump sum payments which they add on tax relief so if I put 8000 in , then my balance goes up 10000