Pension sharing - the next move?

Beatlejuice

OK, first post so here goes ...........

*Have been separated from my 'wife' for over 3 years.
*Together 25 years
*No kids
*No divorce plans yet but it will happen at some point.
*She was the principle earner and has accumulated a substantial final salary pension fund.
*She accepts in principle I have an entitlement.
*We get on well - Sure we can agree a split privately.
*..... but the value will prevent her paying me off.


Q Is the next step the solicitors?
Q Would we have to appoint separate ones?
Q Would a private deal made between us be honoured?
Q How are fees usually managed - Time charged or Fixed?
Q Should this be combined with divorce or sorted in advance?
Q Could I retain my share with her pension provider?
Q When would I receive it?

Thanks and regards

BJ

atush

Beatlejuice wrote: »

OK, first post so here goes ...........

*Have been separated from my 'wife' for over 3 years.
*Together 25 years
*No kids
*No divorce plans yet but it will happen at some point.
*She was the principle earner and has accumulated a substantial final salary pension fund.
*She accepts in principle I have an entitlement.
*We get on well - Sure we can agree a split privately.
*..... but the value will prevent her paying me off.


Q Is the next step the solicitors?
Q Would we have to appoint separate ones?
Q Would a private deal made between us be honoured?
Q How are fees usually managed - Time charged or Fixed?
Q Should this be combined with divorce or sorted in advance?
Q Could I retain my share with her pension provider?
Q When would I receive it?

Thanks and regards

BJ

you can use arbitration which is cheaper than lots of solicitors hours spent on the settlement.

prbaly best is you each have one, but if everything is agreed via arbitration and you are both happy i don't see why

Yes, if done properly

Depends on how you decide to go about things- in your case with a preagreed settlement i can see it being don on fee rather than hourly basis

can be combined or done sep- but the settlement is usually done before decree

In the caseof FS pension splitting it is usually left with her employer but apportioned and you each have your own 'pot' ie no of years but hers may be bigger depending on how your assets are split and if she keeps working

you get your pension when she takes hers.

dunstonh

Q Could I retain my share with her pension provider?

Depends on which method you use and if the provider is still open for business. Normally they treat it as new money for application purposes. It also depends on the pension as final salary schemes work differently to money purchase

atush

the op did say FS so I was thinking it had to stay?

xylophone

http://www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk/workplace-pension-schemes/final-salary-schemes/divorce might be worth a look.

TBagpuss

Beatlejuice wrote: »

OK, first post so here goes ...........

*Have been separated from my 'wife' for over 3 years.
*Together 25 years
*No kids
*No divorce plans yet but it will happen at some point.
*She was the principle earner and has accumulated a substantial final salary pension fund.
*She accepts in principle I have an entitlement.
*We get on well - Sure we can agree a split privately.
*..... but the value will prevent her paying me off.


Q Is the next step the solicitors?

It would be sensible. You may find it helpful to get some initial advice, you can then decide what the best way forward is - e.g. if you still have issues you need to agree, they will be able to help you negotiate, or to refer you to mediation, or, if you have reached an agreement, to draw that up as a formal deed or consent order.

Q Would we have to appoint separate ones?

Yes. A solicitor isn't allowed to act for you both. However, if everything is agreed, then it may be possible for one of you to instruct a solicitor to draw up all of the documents - the other person will then potentially need to see a solicitor to go through and agree it

Q Would a private deal made between us be honoured?

Yes, but you still need to get it drawn up as a formal deed (if you don't plan to get divporced yet) or Consent Order (if you do. Be aware that a pension company CANNOT implement an agreement except when a court order has been made, so if the main issue is a Pension Share you are going to need to deal with a divoce and get a court order (this can be by agreement)

Q How are fees usually managed - Time charged or Fixed?

Hourly rates. Some firms amy offer a fixed fee for the divorce, and will be able to give you an extimate for the total work. Normally you each pay your opwn costs, but you can agree wioth your wife that you will each pay half (which may cut down on arguments about who divorces who, which solicitor drafts the documents etc. )

Q Should this be combined with divorce or sorted in advance?

A pension share can only be inmplemented once an order has been made byu the court, and a court can only make an order if there is a divorce, so you'll need to combine it with a divorce. However, youi can of course have the discussionsand agree between yourselves first. The divorce process usually takes between 4 and 6 months, so it may make sense to start the ball riolling while you are discussing the finber points of your finacial settlement. Of course, it's best to agree this if you can so neither of you feels you are being pressured or rushed, as that's likely to make it harder to reach an agreement!

Q Could I retain my share with her pension provider?

It depends. If she requests a CETV from her pension provider for divorce purposes, they wiull probably send details inbcluding your choices about whether you can leave your share in (in some cases, with occupational pensions, you don't have that option, with others, you don't have any other option!) If you have a choice, you can then take independent advice about whether this is in your best interests.

Q When would I receive it?

Once the court has made the order, this has to be sent to the pension provider. You will also need to send them a copy of the Decree Absolute of Divorce. You and your wife will usually then have to provide the pension company with further information such as proof of ID, and to pay any fees, and once they have all of that, they have up to 3 months to implement the order. At that point, you have a pension fund in your own right, and you can draw it in accordance with the rules of the scheme - for private fuinbds, usually this could be from 55 - some occupational pension (e.g. armed forces) may have fixed ages

Thanks and regards

BJ

Beatlejuice

Thanks for all your advice folks, I will be meeting my wife very soon to discuss

Beatlejuice

Hi again,

One further Q I forgot to ask ...............

I'm not looking for a 50/50 split so how would I calculate my entitlement?

To date the pension is 32 years old during which time our relationship existed for 24 years.

Would a reasonable calculation therefore be ........

CETV x 50% divided by 32 x 24 = 37.50%

Beatlejuice

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