Kerrie,
If you do not have a private pension it is advisable to pay your stamp duty, For a male he requires 45 years of paid stamp duty to get a full pension, therefore you can have a few years off if he has been paying since he was 16? There is a good website on all this and what level of contributions you have to pay at http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/cnr/index.htm , In the end the decision is entirely based on personal circumstances. e.t.c