Am I entitled to part of my ex husband’s pension?? 27 October 2022 at 3:47PM in Savings & investments 20 replies 1.4K views

Happy_go_lucky82

I was married to my ex husband, the father of my four children, from 2001 to 2015. We had an Islamic marriage and he was abusive so I left with the children in 2015. I have National Insurance gaps in my record for these 14 years I was married to him. 
Am I entitled to claim a part of his pension for these years? If so how would I go about this? I still have a copy of the marriage certificate, although we didn’t have a civil marriage but we were definitely married. I don’t have money so can’t afford legal advice. Thanks for any responses I really appreciate it!

Daliah

I doubt you are but you might be entitled to NI credits as you looked after your children. Best hop over to the Pensions board and ask your question there https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/pensions-annuities-retirement-planning

EssexHebridean

Allowing that you have children, was there not an agreed financial settlement when the divorce was arranged? That usually takes into account things like pensions. 

xylophone

I have National Insurance gaps in my record for these 14 years I was married to him. 

Were you receiving Child  Benefit during those years?

What exactly does your state pension forecast show?

https://www.gov.uk/check-state-pension

When you mention claiming part of his pension, do you mean his occupational pension?

dunstonh

Am I entitled to claim a part of his pension for these years?

Highly unlikely as assets, including pension are considered in the divorce settlement.  As you are divorced, the split of assets must have already been agreed.  A clean break is normally the outcome unless hidden assets have come to light after the event.

sammyjammy

Did you have a civil divorce as well as an Islamic divorce?

clowning

Are you saying that the only wedding was the Islamic wedding? It's best to seek legal advice I think, as not all Islamic weddings are recognised in the UK. 

LHW99

clowning said:

Are you saying that the only wedding was the Islamic wedding? It's best to seek legal advice I think, as not all Islamic weddings are recognised in the UK. 

If you have home insurance, some will include a legal advice helpline, which could help with some of the questions about the wedding. Worth checking the documents.

Brie

Also look to any links to legal advice through any work/school/church associations.  Many larger employers have some sort legal advice as a benefit usually via some employment assistance programme.  So where I used to work I could phone AXA to access a service the employer paid for and could talk to them about financial difficulties, mental health issues or legal problems.  It didn't always mean I could get a lawyer to do things for me but they could point in me in the right direction. 

There's also a lot of occupational organisations that do this as well - might be via a union or something supported by but otherwise directly related to the company.  Unite Union and Bank Workers' Charity spring to mind.  Any military link could get you assistance from SSAFA etc.

If none of those work then there's always Citizen's Advice.

DullGreyGuy

Happy_go_lucky82 said:

I was married to my ex husband, the father of my four children, from 2001 to 2015. We had an Islamic marriage and he was abusive so I left with the children in 2015. I have National Insurance gaps in my record for these 14 years I was married to him. 
Am I entitled to claim a part of his pension for these years? If so how would I go about this? I still have a copy of the marriage certificate, although we didn’t have a civil marriage but we were definitely married. I don’t have money so can’t afford legal advice. Thanks for any responses I really appreciate it!

Where was your marriage?

If it was in the UK then a Nikah without a corresponding civil marriage is not recognised in UK law and so you were legally co-habitting rather than married. The protection and basic rights on dividing assets on splitting up is much weaker for co-habitting couples compared to married ones.

Happy_go_lucky82

I was married in the UK yes