navy pention how to trade it?

I have separated from my husband after 21 yrs together ,married 16 of those and 5 yrs living together .my choice. i am to receive half my husbands navy pension and half of house but dont understand anthing about pensions it's of sizable amount. but would rather have more money now to put down more deposit on a house for me an children as i left the family home and went into rented while the financials being settled.any suggestions on trading pension or ways round this dilema .husband has taken situation very badly so not comfortable talking to him and my solisitor is advising i practicaly take him to the cleaners!as my income is so low due to being parttime worker/housewife situation. i just want to do this fairly as am dealing with horrific guilt over leaving him and don't want to cause him futher hurt over money too.

Hi,

You are describing offsetting. This is one of the three options available on dealing with pensions on divorce. The other two are attachment and sharing.

Given your stated goal of having more money now offsetting would seem appropriate.

There is a lot of information about offsetting and I would recommend you search the forums for the issues. Some things to be mindful of are:

- ensure the cash equivalent transfer value (pension value) is fair as Armed Forces Pensions are often undervalued.
-there is no single correct method of comparing the respective values of the pension against the house
-consider your longer term needs before proceeding (what will you live on in retirement?)

I would suggest that when matters have calmed down you discuss this further with your husband via your solicitor. It is a negotiation and so you will ideally need his buy in to get what you want.

Of course, if he will not entertain offsetting you may be forced to look at pension sharing.

You should consider (hopefully on a joint basis) instructing an actuary to help decide how the pension can be offset against the house to help you take more cash out now.

Regards

Phil