A woman who is not in full-time employment is not normally in a position to establish her own pension fund and will have to rely on her husband's pension plan.

One Family Money reader, Mrs. E.G., has been married for 30 years and has never worked outside the home. She is now looking ahead to her husband's retirement in two years, and wonders what she should know about his pension.

Mr Jim Lee, Pension and Sales manager with Friends First, believes that it is important that a married woman realises it is in her interest to ensure that her husband's pension offers her adequate security, and she should satisfy herself about the following:

That her husband's pension plan will provide her and her children with adequate protection in the event of death before retirement;

That contributions into the pension fund are sufficient to provide a reasonable level of income at retirement, and that this income will continue to be payable should she outlive her husband. Women are likely to outlive their partners by some four years.

In the event of the husband's death either before or after retirement, that there is sufficient income for the children to complete third-level education.

Formal recognition has been given to the wife's interest in the pension affairs of her husband. The Family Acts of 1995 and 1996 give the wife an interest in her husband's pension assets, which can be realised in the event of a judicial separation.

Mr Lee points out that the value of a pension plan may well be greater than the value of the family home. "Broadly speaking, the wife would have an equal interest in the portion of the pension plan which was built up during the course of the marriage," he says.

In the event of a judicial separation or divorce, the courts will issue a pension adjustment order, which splits the pension plan assets between the spouses.

At present no independent pension is available to a woman taking care of her family at home or for someone moving in and out of employment.

However, further changes are expected to be announced in the Pensions Bill shortly and these are likely to become effective next year.

These changes will include the introduction of personal retirement savings accounts (PRSAs), which is a simplified form of pension plan that would be available to anyone, regardless of employment.

The woman who does not work full-time or who remains in the home to care for her children could use the PRSA as a practical method of putting aside some money for retirement.

In the meantime, Mr Lee advises, it will reward the stay-at-home wife to familiarise herself with her partner's pension to ensure that she is adequately protected.