Pension - divorce

Willow_2

My husband and I are separating after almost 24yrs of marriage,
I am keeping the marital home and he is taking equivalent money from the joint funds.


I now have to sort the pension,I don't have one, but he has, I have found out today his pension is a final salary one, he said that I have to leave it and wait years to get anything?

What are the options for this kind of pension in a divorce??

Retired_I.F.A.

You probably have a right to a portion of his pension. Speak with you solicitor and an IFA as the portion can be 'earmarked' for you or taken fom his employers scheme and transfered into a pension plan of your own.

Please note rules pertaining to pensions in divorce where pretty new when I last worked in the industry some 6 years ago and may well have changed. Although I'm now obsolete (lovely thought ) I believe the above to still be true but in any case a current IFA will advise what's best and it's the solicitors job to get it for you.

edit
Added the word probably as it could well be different depending on the circumstances but I'm assuming as is the majority of cases you were not the main breadwinner if at all.

Footsie_2

Retired IFA is quite right, you need to speak to your solicitor and an IFA about this because you are probably entitled to a portion of the pension. Your solicitor should be able to contact the scheme trustees (the people who run the pension) and they will tell them what you are entitled to. When you divorce it will form part of the legal papers and those legal papers can be used by your IFA to move your portion of the funds into your own account.

tanith

Hi Willow just wanted to say ((((((((hugs)))))))))) not an easy time and dealing with the nuts and bolts really makes it feel final.. (been there ) some good advice already given so I will just say good luck with it all ...

Retired_I.F.A.

I dont think it's the trustees who tell the solicitor what she's entitled to.
I thought it was up to the solicitor to effectively barter the portion which is then either earmarked or transfered and that trustees merely get the transfer value calculated.

Trustees have no idea of the wifes income, the husband could have been a toyboy for all they know.

Retired_I.F.A.

Hi Willow just wanted to say ((((((((hugs))))))))))..etc..

In the interests of equality....

Hey Mr Willow, sorry pal but she'd have found out anyway telling her porkies wouldn't have helped nobody. Dont worry about your pension anyways join me in the Divorced and aiming to die drunk long before retirement age club.

BTW Has she left you a clean shirt for work?



and Willow if you dont find it funny now believe me you will one day.
Divorce happens, its crap all round, but time heals every bit of any pain.

Good luck to you both.

Willow_2

thanks for the replies looks like I need to find a IFA

wheres the best place to find one or will a solicitor appoint one ?

No I wasnt the breadwinner
and thanks for the hugs.......needed at the moment...

Blowsy

3 options:

Offsetting: The most straightforward way of dealing with pension rights on divorce and remains the most common. Basically your husband agrees to retain 100% of his pension and you offset this by taking a larger percentage of other asset(s) eg the house.

Earmarking: Part of your husband's pension is diverted from his scheme to you. The difficulties with this are that you have no control over when you will receive the benefits as you will only start to receive them when your husband retires. Earmarking, therefore, doesn't provide you with a clean break. Also, and more importantly, should your husband die before taking his pension, your benefits are lost.

Pension sharing: The value of your husband's pension scheme is valued at the time of your divorce and divided into proportions agreed as part of the overall settlement. You will be allocated rights known as pension credit under your husband's scheme and his pension rights will be reduced accordingly. You can then either keep your part of the pension in your husband's scheme or transfer it out into your own scheme (more popular).

In terms of finding an advisor, you could try Yellow Pages, or ask your friends for personal recommendations. Go and see him/her, the most important thing is that you are 100% comfortable with the adviser.

I hope this helps.