I had been working from the time I graduated college & been contributing to a 401k plan up until the time I stopped working after the birth of my son. I also had a few ROTH Ira's started. I'm no longer able to contribute to those Ira's & don't have an income now. My husband provides for all my necessities, but I don't get a regular amount of money on a regular basis. I'm worried about what happens to my retirement plans while I'm not working...which could be for several years, since we plan to have another baby in the future & I would like to be a SAHM until both children are school-age. During this time, am I losing out on the compounding effect since I'm not actively contributing to the accounts? I understand that the money that's already in those accounts is still working for me, but am I significantly losing out during this period without contributions? My husband feels that any extra money should go into our son's college savings accounts, but I've heard that it's a mistake to put money away in a college fund, before making sure that you've taken care of your own retirement. My husband has put money aside in his own retirement plan & assures me that he'd make sure I was ok, but if he's put enough in for one person only, how can he provide for me, too?