Pension sharing agreement advice please

tootz

Following divorce, I set up a pension sharing agreement with my ex for half his pension. I am now trying to transfer this into a new personal pension (it's a company pension) in my own name.

The company are demanding £780 "admin fees" and want bank certified copies of my birth certificate, passport and marriage licence before they are prepared to even consider moving my half of the pension. It was all agreed amicably between parties and now I seem to be having to jump through some rather expensive hoops.

Does anyone have any advice? I don't even have my birth certificate! Is there a governing body regarding pensions as the fee seems somewhat excessive.

Thanks in advance.

atush

First of all, why are you moving the pension? Why not keep it there, under your own name?

Second, you can get a copy of your Birth Cert. But you need one for a passport so seems a bit redundant to me.

tootz

I'm having to move the pension because it is in my ex husbands name.

SallyG

Pension sharing on divorce is a nice little earner for private occupational defined benefit schemes
http://www.napf.co.uk/PolicyandResearch/DocumentLibrary/~/media/Policy/Documents/0180_Pension_sharing_charges_NAPF_guidance_0711.ashx

Most/?all private occupational defined benefit schemes will force non-member pension sharers to exit the defined benefit section of the scheme. WRPA 1999 the pension sharing legislation condones this.

Drp8713

You should (in most schemes) be able to ask for an internal transfer, ie you will have your own pension but in his companies scheme if you dont have anywhere to transfer it to. As mentioned above however they will usually want to get rid of you. So ask for the scheme rules.

Birth certs are £9.25 from the GRO. The admin fee and % of it you are due to pay would be in the court order itself

jamesd

The admin fee is probably the standard one charged by the scheme and it's not excessive.

OldBeanz

Presumably the court determined this was a fair division of assets.