Pregnancy and Finance Activity 5: Protect your Family's Future

The ‘what ifs’ become more important when you become a family, so don’t forget to write or update your will. And factor in the cost of insurance payments to your spending plan. Money made clear has a great summary of things to consider.

Paying into a pension remains as important as ever. If you’re not working, or your earnings are below a certain level, you can build up credits for the state pension if you claim child benefit for under-12s. This means you won’t lose out on your state pension if you’ve got a gap in your working history. New State pension rules are also being introduced in the future which will help stay-at-home Mums.

If you’re on maternity or paternity leave, ask your employer whether you can continue paying into the company pension scheme. If you have a personal or stakeholder pension, you (or your partner) can still pay in up to £2,808 each year after tax, even if you’re not working. Again, make sure to include these costs in your spending plan. For more information check out The Pensions Advisory Service.