Pension Sharing Order - Help needed please

Sunflowergal1975

Hi,

I hope you may be able to give me your thoughts on this situation as, to be honest, I am really unsure if this is correct or not. 

My ex and I got divorced March 2024 and a PSO was granted by the court for him to share part of his pension with me. 

The CEV figure on the court paperwork was £646,186 and it states “The specified percentage of member’s CEV to be transferred - 35.87%”

It has taken ages for the transfer to be finalised but I received notification yesterday the money has now gone into my pension. 

Now, I know the market has been extremely volatile over the past year and many pensions/investments have decreased in value. Also, am I correct in saying that the actual CEV used will have been on the date Aviva actioned the order so the value had likely dropped. However the amount I received was £38,712. I was expecting a larger amount than this, (as discussed in mediation) and although I know it’s calculated by % rather than £, it still seems like a huge drop in value. 

Do you think it’s plausible his pension value would have plummeted so much in a year? 

The reason I ask is because he is an IFA and a pension specialist so -
1) He is always very clued up on the best funds for investments and I know he will be on the ball when it comes to his own money
2) I don’t trust him to have not transferred the bulk of the money into a different pension (if this is even possible?) before the PSO was actioned. 

And I’m not sure how I would find out any values etc as the pension is in his name. 

Thank you in advance for any thoughts on this x 

Sunflowergal1975

Sorry I should have said it was a consent order for a clean break and the paperwork I have from the court is a Pension Sharing Annex - not sure if that makes any difference? Definitely not my area of expertise! 🙈

Keep_pedalling

CEV values normally refer to defined benefits pensions so although the amount would have been significantly lower they would not have dropped that much.

I think you will get a better response on the pensions board so I have asked the mods to move this thread there.

Sunflowergal1975

Thank you for your reply! After posting I wondered if the pensions board would have been a better option but wasn’t sure if it was against the rules to post it again! 

maryspecial

Please go back and query this amount. Similar situation for me a few years ago. Amount that transferred didn't look right. Ex was also a pensions expert. It was an error made by the pension company but if I hadn't gone back it wouldn't have been picked up on. They are not v transparent, they simply transfer a figure. I'm no expert but v unlikely the value will have dropped that much. Ask for a breakdown of their calculation. 

Sunflowergal1975

Thank you so much for your reply Mary. So if I enquire with the pension provider, do you think they can provide me with the information even though the pension is in my exes name? 

QrizB

You'll get better answers on the Pensions board but I'm pretty sure CETVs have not fallen six-fold since March last year.

Sunflowergal1975

Thank you. I’m not clued up at all re pension valuations but I did think it seemed extreme. I will post on pensions board, thanks again. 

VyEu

Op, was the 600k+ a projected figure as to what the pension would be worth it it's current value. You say it was a consent order, did you get an actuary report?

Unfortunately I've seen a few cases whereby spouse thought they were getting X amount but read the valuation wrong/they didn't receive a proper.CETV and this is the result. 

Silvertabby

VyEu said:

Op, was the 600k+ a projected figure as to what the pension would be worth it it's current value. You say it was a consent order, did you get an actuary report?

Unfortunately I've seen a few cases whereby spouse thought they were getting X amount but read the valuation wrong/they didn't receive a proper.CETV and this is the result. 

This.  The full report (usually a Form E for a DB pension, or equivalent for a DC) includes the forecast at normal retirement age, subject to the scheme member remaining a contributing member until that date.

But the actual PSO share will only be based on accruals to the date of the Order implementation.

Marcon

Sunflowergal1975 said:

Sorry I should have said it was a consent order for a clean break and the paperwork I have from the court is a Pension Sharing Annex - not sure if that makes any difference? Definitely not my area of expertise! 🙈

Did you take specialist advice, or at least get advice from a solicitor?

What does the annex actually say?