Pension question re: divorced women

MM2005

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

If it had been, there would have been one of two solutions. Either
A payment would have been made from dad's pension scheme into a pension in your mum's name. So there would have been two separate pensions and your mum would know if she had one in her name; or

Part of dad's pension would have been paid directly to mum when he retired. Again, she would know if she was getting this.

If neither of the above applied, then there were no "pension" issues as far as the divorce was concerned. She might have got a bigger share of the house (or any other assets) when they divorced, instead of her own pension.



OK ... so your parents were divorced when dad died. In this case, nothing would be payable from his scheme. It will only pay a pension, on death, to a spouse or someone else who was financially dependant on him. I assume that dad was not paying any maintenance to mum , f he was, then she is possibly a dependant and could possibly get the equivalent of a "widow's" pension.

Which pension scheme was it? I may be able to find more information about who gets a pension when a member dies, but there would definitely have to be some connection in both parties finances (Inland Revenue Rule).

If all the finances were separated and dealt with the by the divorce, then they are treated as though they were never married (from a financial point of view, anyway). So, from that point on, neither party has any claim on the other party's finances.



As someone mentioned, get a State Pension Forecast by completing form BR1 and take it from there.

Thankyou so much for taking the time to reply in such depth. When they divorced my mother did get half of the assets etc. and it was agreed (via a solicitor) that my father paid £40 per week maintenance money. She is struggling a little now due to not receiving this, hence the question on claiming half the pension etc. I think we will fill in the BR1 form and see if we can get anything done that way. The pension was with the Tyne and Wear Pension Fund - if you are able to clarify any of the questions then that would be brilliant. Once again, thankyou.

Debt_Free_Chick

MM2005 wrote:

The pension was with the Tyne and Wear Pension Fund - if you are able to clarify any of the questions then that would be brilliant. Once again, thankyou.

The pension scheme booklet is here.

Unfortunately, the benefits are very strict and a pension is only paid on the death of a member to a widow, widower or a Civil Partner.

Sadly, unlike the private sector, they do not seem to have the option to pay to a dependant (other than certain children).

It looks certain that nothing was payable when your dad died - sorry for the bad news

MM2005

Debt_Free_Chick wrote:

The pension scheme booklet is here.

Unfortunately, the benefits are very strict and a pension is only paid on the death of a member to a widow, widower or a Civil Partner.

Sadly, unlike the private sector, they do not seem to have the option to pay to a dependant (other than certain children).

It looks certain that nothing was payable when your dad died - sorry for the bad news

OK, thought as much. Thanks again - we'll try with the BR1 form and see what comes of that. Cheers!