Police pensions

I am going through a divorce at the moment, stbx is a serving police officer with 18 years service. We have been married for 18 years. He wants to settle the finances without going through solicitors, he is asking for half the value of the house and half the endowment policy. I was under the impression that pensions are taken into account, I have a local government pension which I have paid into for 23 years I earn around 15k per year. We have no children. He has paid into his police pension for around 18 years and earns about 35k. He has solicitors who specialise in police divorces and he keeps telling me that there are factors which are taken into account when dealing with pensions so i would be better off settling now. Would the fact that he is living with someone who has 2 teenage children (not his) and does not work affect any financial settlement I may get. Things will be tight for me to take on the mortgage and bills and i may need to get a second job but i want to keep the house which has around 90k equity after the mortgage of 40k is taken off.
Please any words of advice would be appreciated he seems so confident as to what his specialised solicitors have told him.

His pension will be worth a lot of money. Don't agree anything until he has got a CETV (he just needs to ask, its free). Even then in most circumstances it will be undervalued and it would be useful for someone like Peter or Nigel at DBM to take a look at it...

Hi Yewtree,

I am recently divorced from a serving met police officer. You need to get your own legal advice, as his specialist police solicitor will be finding the best way for him to keep all of his pension. You will be entitled to some of that due to the length of your marriage. However pensions are very complicated and your own pension will also be taken into account. I know the police pensions are extremely good, so you really do need your own legal advise and do not rely on anything he may be saying to you as his information will be heavily biased.

In my divorce my ex didn't want his form E questioned and he wanted a Clean Break Consent Order. Therefore he offered me all of the house, the endowments and 40% of his pension. I accepted this offer. You may be able to negotiate re the police pension so that you gain the house/endowment. You do need legal advise about this. in my case I was married for over 20yrs with children.

Hope that helps.

Pinkfish

Thanks guys for the advice, think I was a bit worried that he might be able to wriggle out of things thanks to his solicitors and their specialist knowledge.

Hi Yewtree

Have a look at the free pension calculator on our website at bradshawdixonmoore.com/calculator.html . However, as the other good folks have said the police pension is very good and its true value (not reflected in the CETV he will get from the scheme) will be much higher. And probably even higher than what our free calculator will show.

Peter.

When you say you got 40% of his pension was this his lump sum or yearly pension or both. We have no house or other assets now. Did you have a consent order for this.