Retired police officer pension sharing

Be interesting to here some input from the pension acutaries on this site???

I'm not a pension actuary but attachment orders or earmarking were used before there were pension sharing orders.

pension attachment pays the recipient a percentage of the lump sum or pension on maturity but it doesn't create a separate fund. The order ceases to have effect if the pension holder dies and the income payment ends if the recipient remarries.

Therefore, rarely are you better off with an attachment order rather than pension sharing, but as usual it is worth seeing an independent financial adviser to find the best option given your particular circumstances.

In my defence, I am not an actuary myself but work very closely with them.

The retirement age problem is one that people have struggled with for years and so far, I have not discovered any particularly elegant solutions.

Attachment is something worth considering, the risk of him dying can be insured against or you could seek a separate order on the death benefits provided by the scheme to fill some of the gap. What you cannot insure against is the “risk” of you re-marrying, which is the other situation that severs an attachment order.

Attachment orders can be varied by the court, which cuts both ways. He could at some later time, go back to the court and seek a reduction or even cancellation of the attachment order and my understanding is that nothing can be done to prevent this happening. The up side is that you could seek to vary the order when you reach the scheme retirement age. In effect, cancel the attachment order and seek a pension sharing order in its stead. Again, there are no guarantees that the court will agree to this. There are also some administration problems such as who would be responsible for initiating the appropriate action when you reach the scheme retirement age. This potential solution also has increased legal costs as they are to an extent doubled.

If there are any other assets in the marriage, you might consider what I refer to as a hybrid pension share. Effectively, you receive a lump sum (that will provide your much-needed income) and a slightly lower share of the pension (when you reach the scheme retirement age).

The problem with all such settlements is that unless you are in the celebrity category the income and asset options will always be limited, there is only so much to go around. Pragmatic thinking by lawyers, assisted by other professionals including IFAs and actuaries can merely seek to achieve the best possible solution in any particular case.

Peter

Many thanks to all who have taken the time and trouble to reply, it is much appreciated. Unfortunately, my current financial situation is such that I cannot afford to fund legal representation and will have to DIY this.
There are no other assets of the marriage, as upon separation I (foolishly with hindsight) agreed to sell the MH and split 50/.50 (done) sell car and split 50/50 (done) cash in investments and split 50/50 (done) He promised to pay an on going 50% of pension income to me, but once he had received his 50% lump sum of the tangible assets, this promise to pay disappeared.

As I now have no income and the 50% of the cash assets were used in full to purchase myself another home, I believe I have no option other than to seek an attachment to his 'in payment' pension?

A pension sharing order would give me no immediate benefit, as I am still a way off age 60.

Peter, you mention that he could go back to court and obtain a variation of any attachment. Upon what grounds could this possibly happen?

And, if I am not being too cheeky in seeking your opinion, I would be grateful if you would give me your thoughts as to whether I would be likely to be granted a 50% attachment of the pension income on the grounds that everytning else was split in this 50/50 ratio? We have been married 25 years and co - habited for 3, so 28 in total?

Hi BD

Sorry but I don’t have the expertise or knowledge to answer your questions about grounds for variation of an attachment order or the split that a court might consider reasonable. You really need the input of a suitably qualified and experienced lawyer.

I’ll drop someone a hint and see whether they can answer your questions through the forum.

Peter.