Pension Drawdown

Hi All

First of all a massive thanks to Maggie

My partner got his adjournment today due to the fact that his stbx's sol sent the Statement of Open Proposal out 1st class and the postal service has lost it. I love Royal Mail. Anyway, a quick question to anyone who can help.

His stbx wants a 50% share of his pension and is under the impression she can take this (for arguments sake £60k) put it in another pension fund and then 2 days later draw it out to buy a house. Is this is the case after all how can she draw physical money on something that will not come into maturity for another 12 years. I was also under the impression that to have an income drawdown pension you have to have more than £100k in it.

Can anybody please answer these questions so that we are clear when we go to FH. Partner will be self repping.

Many thanks

IF ONLY ......
You can't swap the whole CETV of a pension you got by sharing on divorce for cash -
You can't take a pension from it until age 60 at the earliest: www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts1999/ukpga_1999..._6#pt4-ch1-pb4-l1g37
101C Basic principle as to pension credit benefit

(1) Normal benefit age under a scheme must be between 60 and 65.

(2) A scheme must not provide for payment of pension credit benefit in the form of a lump sum at any time before normal benefit age, except in such circumstances as may be prescribed.
[ie terminal illness....]
So the best she could get would be 25% tax free cash at her age 60 - the rest paid as her pension.
Income Drawdown is classed as taking your pension into payment, even though you can leave all of it invested [ie going down fast?] so for a pension got on divorce - no tax free cash from that until her age 60 and then 25% of CETV max [unless rules change]