Pensions & Divorce
This is a complex issue where specialist actuarial advice is often warranted. The aim of the Court would generally be to equalise the income from pensions built up during the marriage.
Arguments about distinguishing contributions built up pre-marriage and pre-cohabitation often pervade this difficult area of the law.
Offsetting as an alternative to pension sharing is a way of taking into account the pensions accumulated during the marriage/relationship and trading them off against other capital or other assets accumulated within the marriage.
Lawyers are unable to offer financial advice relating to pensions as it is specialist advice regulated by the FCA.
Identifying the issues and signposting to other services and often preparing the joint letter of instruction to the specialist expert is part of the lawyer’s role in this area, also advising on the recommendations of the actuary and implementation is key.
Pensions can often be the most valuable asset of a marriage and should never be ignored, neither should any party be dissuaded by another from valuing them accurately, for Cash Equivalent Values can often deviate from the values provided by the individual pension providers, and the value of certain benefits hidden within the fund, will not always be obvious.
For further advice in connection with this matter, please consult us.