Your pension rights may be taken into account on divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership. The court can order your pension to be divided between you and your ex-spouse or ex-civil partner (ex-partner), although this depends on the terms of the settlement.
Couples can choose to offset pension rights against other assets (eg the family home) or ‘earmark’ some (or all) of a member’s benefits to go direct to the ex-partner when they come into payment. Alternatively, pension rights can be shared as part of a ‘clean break’ settlement. Pension sharing creates a ‘pension credit’ for the ex-partner and a corresponding ‘pension debit’ for the member.
If you are getting divorced, you will be charged for:
- provision of information for divorce proceedings, over and above that which the Scheme has a duty to provide free of charge under the existing statutory disclosure requirements,
- compliance with a pension-sharing order or agreement, and
- any other activities in connection with pension sharing.
You should consult and be guided by a suitably qualified family law practitioner on matters relating to divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership.