Errors in Pension Share Implementation

I think it will be way more than that Maggie, there was an article in family law week a while ago where the trustee was ordered to pay compensation to a former wife of a few thousand pounds, they found 100% in her favor, ill try and find it.

Also of interest is that this year the maximum compensation went from 100k to 150k, one hell of a jump.

If your really interested Maggie

Financial Ombudsman Service

South Quay Plaza

183 Marsh Wall

London

E14 9SR

Telephone: 08000 234 567 or 0300 123 9 123

Without wanting to sound like I''m trying to drum up business. The reality is that the whole process around pension sharing often needs the involvement of a pensions expert who is familiar with the process but also understands how corporate pension funds operate.
The difficulty arises where costs are, or are perceived as being, a barrier to such advice being provided.
Ian

I don`t think anyone thinks that Ian, lets face it you advise people here free of charge, anyone know any other actuaries that do?, i don`t, plus the feedback ive had from your services is all good.

Back to topic though, pensions are often the second most valuable asset people have, often after the home obviously, if your sharing a pension worth 100k or more sometimes way more is it wise to wing it, personally i think its utter madness, professional advice costs money it always will, there is a good reason though, not taking advice is often false economy, spend a little to save a lot as they say.

If your car needs work or stops working do you think ill buy a spanner and look at DIY guides on the net, err no you pay someone who knows what they are doing, if people wont take a chance on a car worth a few grand why would you try and sort a pension worth many many times more?.

On the other hand, professional advice is only going to be useful, surely, if both parties are amicable or if the settlement is to be resolved by court. I have spent £4000 on solicitors fees so far and we are being fairly amicable. I can''t afford to go through the court process so we have agreed a settlement of a pension share of 50% of the pension built up during the time of our marriage. This equates to a 40% share to me. It has taken me a considerable amount of time and negotiation to get to this stage so even if I got an actuaries report which made me think I should get more than this, there is no way my ex would agree. I suspect I would spend as much in legal fees as I would gain. If the actuaries report suggested that my ex should get a larger share, why would I want to pay for that advice?

The question is more about is the valuation provided accurate, if not what you have agreed could be a house of cards.

Agree with Dukey; too often during a divorce, the arguement is about the house and the pension is just a passing thought.

Understanding excatly what impact a pension share will have for both parties is really important.

My partner could have lost thousands of £ if he had just listened to his solicitor suggestion he should just add together his and his ex CETV and divide by 2. Luckily he found wiki and realised its not as straight forward as that!