What happens if I stop working?
You can make payments into your stakeholder pension or personal pension even if you are not working. You can invest up to £3,600 a year and, in certain circumstances, you may be able to contribute more. If you want more information about this, see the Inland Revenue’s leaflet Personal Pension Schemes (including Stakeholder Pension Schemes) – A guide for members of tax-approved schemes (IR3). See the directory for details about how you can get a copy of this leaflet.
You should ask your pension scheme provider whether you can make payments from any income you get:
- while you are unemployed;
- while you are injured; or
- if you have a long--term illness or disability.
You may be able to buy insurance to pay your pension premiums if in the future you cannot work for any of these reasons.
When you start work again, you should think about starting to pay into your old pension scheme rather than buying a new one, because this may be cheaper for you.
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