Pensions are often the biggest asset apart from the family home, and are taken into account when consideration is given to resolving financial matters on a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership.
Pensions can be dealt with in a number of ways following a divorce, depending upon the particular circumstances of your case.
You should start by making a list of the pensions you currently contribute to with your former partner, as well as any previous pensions you may have. Most pension providers provide an annual statement which is a useful starting point.
A CETV (Cash Equivalent Transfer value) or CEB (Cash Equivalent Benefit) statement details the capital value of the pension benefits (income and potential lump sum) that have accrued to date or which are in payment.
With money purchase schemes, the CETV statement details the transfer value of the funds that have accrued to date and this may be different to the actual fund values depending on the scheme.
CETV statements of final salary schemes rarely reflect the true value of the pension rights. For example, if the scheme is underfunded the transfer value may be reduced to reflect this. This is a very complex area and professional advice is important.
Yes. It will depend on the rules of the pension arrangement, as to whether or not, the receiving spouse will be able to take a lump sum from any benefits upon transfer. This will also depend on whether or not any lump sum has already been taken.
The Basic State Pension cannot be shared. However, divorced couples can use their former spouse or civil partner's National Insurance contributions to increase their basic State Pension. This will not reduce the amount of State Pension the other person recieves.
In the vast majority of cases, UK pension providers will not implement orders made in different jurisdictions unless a ‘mirror’ Order is obtained in the UK. This is usually a straight forward application to the court and we can help with this application.
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