pension sharing

Hi

Can anyone tell me if my stbx and i split his pension do we lose a lot of value from the pension. My husband has a company pension so i am assuming that i can not keep the pension in the same fund and have to arrange my own. Is this correct?

Hi jerseygirl,

Re: your first question. The CETV and the capital value built up to date are basically the same. However, if he has a company pension with any extra perks, like life assurance or spouse's/children's pension, it may be worth more than the CETV. An independent actuarial valuation will tell you what's it's really worth, but can cost a fortune.

Second, if you get a pension sharing agreement, typically that means that your share is transferred out and you have to invest it in another pension fund, which may not deliver as much as it would have if you have stayed in the original fund, particularly if it is a final salary fund.

Hope that helps.

BB

hi bb

thanks for the reply. You have brought to my attention something that i had not thought about that is the pension does have life assurance and a spouse and child pension upon death of the policy holder. Looking at this do you think i would be entitled to more than 50% as it looks as ifi am going to get back at retirement less than my husband.Details are length of marriage 21 years age of h 41 age of wife 42.
Also am i correct in saying that the capital value of £450.000 makes it quite a substantial asset.

Hi jerseygirl,

I would say a pension with a CETV of £450k is a very valuable asset indeed ! But I don't think that this would entitle you to more than 50%. If you are going through the whole (and really ghastly) financial process in court, then you should ask for an actuarial valuation, which I would expect would come out around £550k - £600k. 50% of that isn't bad at all.

good luck,

BB

i would be really happy with that bb

The age you both are might affect how pensions are treated... the younger you are the less important they are in the calculations...also it depends what your current needs are as to how the pension will be looked at.. have you posted all your details? You might get a view of the bigger picture possibilities if you do.

Do also bear in mind that courts DO NOT look at the full figure of the pension value as it is a soft asset not a hard one. It is not classed as money it the bank and cannot be drawn upon to buy a house.

Courts will class it as 25% - 50% of it's value only usually therefore don't look at the full figure and think half of that.

T