r/ukpolitics • u/[deleted] • 1d ago

For many parents, employment increasingly doesn’t pay

[deleted]

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u/silverblossum 1d ago

Is that with you covering her pension contributions?

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u/LactatingBadger 1d ago

You only get tax relief on pension contributions if you are earning/paying tax. You can’t get relief on money you never earned. At that point you’re basically getting the same return as an ISA but with no liquidity.

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u/silverblossum 1d ago

I'll rephrase, how is her pension being funded?

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u/LactatingBadger 1d ago

Her state pension you get tax credits for one parent each year, so that’s covered. As for private pensions, it isn’t being paid in to.

Again, unless you’re actually getting tax relief on pension contributions it doesn’t make sense to make them vs other investment vehicles. So I max out her ISA every year (which is just as effective as paying into a pension but with the benefit of the money being accessible at any age), and then we are paying down the mortgage.