Posted September 28th, 2010
The NHS has just published its schedule of charges for January 2011 onwards.
It makes interesting reading especially the near 600% increase for implementing a pension sharing order. The charge to implement a pension sharing order goes up to £2,760 from £393.62 (an increase of over 600%).
For full details on the increase to the pension sharing order costs and their other proposed charges – see here.
With the current embargo on cash equivalent transfer values slowing up divorces involving NHS Pensions (see here) there is now a clear incentive to get the pension sharing order implemented before January 2011.
However, the cash equivalent transfer value or cash equivalent of benefit calculations are not available and there is still no guidance coming from NHS Pensions.
For £50 plus VAT we are able via an actuary to provide an indicative value of the value of NHS Pensions to help negotiations.
I wonder if this is the start of increases across all the Public Sector schemes – Fire, Armed Forces, Police, Local Government and others. Is this just a cynical income raiser for the Government?
If you would like further information please contact us on 0800 092 1229 or email advice@thedivorceifa.co.uk
Tags: Actuary, Cash Equivalent of Benefit, Cash Equivalent Transfer Value, Divorces, Implementing a pension sharing order, NHS, NHS Pensions, pension sharing order, pension sharing order costs, Pension Sharing Orders, Public Sector Schemes, Schedule of Charges | Posted in Pension Sharing |
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Posted September 24th, 2010
The site has just had a makeover and we would welcome your comments. Let us know what you think and whether there are any areas you feel can be improved. Comments to advice@thedivorceifa.co.uk
We are seeing an increase of instructions month on month as issues such as the CETV embargo in the Public Sector take hold (see our previous blog on this).
We offer a free initial consultation and are happy to provide you with initial comment on a free, no obligation basis. So why not try us out. You can contact us for free on 0800 092 1229 or by email on advice@thedivorceifa.co.uk
Recent examples of our work include:
The quadrupling of the amount of state pension being paid to my client.
- Successfully arguing that a cash equivalent transfer value should be £140,000 and not the stated £90,000.
- Advising on 10 pension schemes within a divorce and reducing the costs of the actuary by £500 and implementation of the pension sharing orders by over £4,000.
So why settle for less?
0800 092 1229 or advice@thedivorceifa.co.uk
Tags: Cash Equivalent Transfer Value, CETV, CETV embargo, Divorce, Free, Free Initial Consultation, Initial Consultation, No obligation, Pension, Pension Sharing, pension sharing order, Pension Sharing Orders, Pensions, Pensions and Divorce, Public Sector, State Pension | Posted in Pensions & divorce |
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Posted September 20th, 2010
Collaborative Law is an alternative approach to divorce.
The collaborative family law process is a relatively new way of dealing with family disputes. Each person appoints their own lawyer but instead of conducting negotiations between you and your partner by letter or phone you meet together to work things out face to face.
Each of you will have your lawyer by your side throughout the entire process and therefore you will benefit from legal advice as you go. The aim of collaborative law is to resolve family disputes without going to court. It is an alternative to a conventional divorce or mediation.
You can find further information on Collaborative Law at the Resolution website – www.resolution.org.uk
You can also find out more information in the attached leaflet.
Brighter Future leaflet
I am currently active in two PODs – Greater Manchester – www.separationsolutions.co.uk and Collaborative Law Merseyside – http://www.collaborativelawmerseyside.co.uk/
If you would like further information on any of the two PODs or any of the solicitors, IFAs, accountants and coaches involved, please feel free to contact me on 0800 092 1229 or email advice@thedivorceifa.co.uk
Tags: Accountants, Brighter Future, Coaches, Collaborative Family Law, Collaborative Law, Collaborative Law Merseyside, Conventional Divorce, Divorce, Family Disputes, Greater Manchester, IFAs, Lawyer, Mediation, Negotiations, POD, PODs, Resolution, Separation Solutions, Solicitors | Posted in Collaborative Law |
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Posted September 10th, 2010
In one of my previous blogs I covered the delays that can happen at the start of the process and lead to a postponement of implementation notice being issued. This blog covers the problems caused when the four month implementation period is breached and details what you can do about it.
The regulations set the timescale for implementing a pension sharing order at four months which you would expect is plenty time for the trustees of any pension scheme to organise the internal transfer or external transfer of pension assets. But it is not the trustees who usually arrange the implementation of a pension sharing order but the pension scheme administrator. Unfortunately, this can mean delays because the standard of pension administration differs hugely between administration providers and pension schemes.
Part II of the Pension Sharing (Implementation and Discharge) Regulations 2000/1053 sets out the requirements in terms of notifying the Pension Regulator of failure of the trustees to implement the share within the 4 months. This section also sets out the circumstances in which the trustees may seek an extension and penalties which may be applied (maximum £1,000 for individuals, £10,000 otherwise). Making the trustees aware of their duties to report to the Regulator should be enough to scare them into action.
In fact, in such cases it is usually the threat of going to the Regulator about delays which really gets things moving.
If you are suffering delays in the implementation of your pension sharing order or you are looking to avoid such problems, please contact me on 0800 092 1229 or email advice@thedivorceifa.co.uk
Tags: Delays in Implementation, external transfer, Four Month Implementation Period, Implementation, Implementation Period, internal transfer, Pension Administration, Pension Assets, Pension Regulator, Pension Scheme, Pension Scheme Administrator, Pension Sharing, pension sharing order, Postponement of Implementation Notice, Trustees | Posted in Pension Sharing |
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Posted September 6th, 2010
Pension sharing is a confusing and complicated part of any divorce settlement and there are many issues to be aware of before proceeding. Some examples include:
- The fairness of a cash equivalent transfer values (CETV).
- Internal transfer or external transfer?
- Moving target syndrome?
- Default options.
Therefore, it was a refreshing change to be contacted by a client this week who had received notification from her pension provider (Prudential) that she HAD to take financial advice before they would agree to accept the pension sharing order.
To avoid the pitfalls above it is important to take financial advice from a competent adviser, preferably one who is a Resolution Accredited Independent Financial Adviser (See link here). You may also wish to employ the services of an actuary that advises on pension and divorce cases.
If this is you and you are looking for financial advice on a pension sharing matter or if you require further information, please contact me on 0800 092 1229 or email advice@thedivorceifa.co.uk
Tags: Actuary, Cash Equivalent Transfer Value, CETV, Competent Adviser, Default Option, Default Options, Divorce Settlement, external transfer, Financial Advice, internal transfer, Moving Target Syndrome, Pension and divorce, Pension Provider, Pension Sharing, Pension Sharing Matter, pension sharing order, Prudential, Receiving scheme, Resolution, Resolution Accredited, Resolution Accredited Independent Financial Adviser | Posted in Pension Sharing |
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Posted September 3rd, 2010
Once your pension sharing order or pension sharing annex is received by the trustees together with all of the additional documentation (see previous blog – http://bit.ly/azX9do) it is quite normal for the implementation period to start.
Given that it can take up to four months for implementation to be completed it is a good idea to get this started as soon as possible. In my experience, sharing orders either complete in the first month or the fourth!
But often the pension sharing order may be badly worded or incorrectly drafted and this often leads to it being immediately rejected by the pension scheme involved. They will issue a postponement of implementation notice summarising why the pension sharing annex has been rejected and what is required to amend it.
Recent examples of cases I have worked on where the order was rejected (before I got involved!) are:
- The title of the pension scheme was incorrectly stated (Part C- Form P).
- The trustees of the pension scheme were incorrectly stated (Part C – Form P).
- The former names section of the order was incomplete (Part B – Form P).
- The new pension arrangement is not stated (Part F&G – Form P)
Once advice is taken, it can often be a relatively straightforward matter to get the order amended but it does need to then go back to court to be restamped, which can add to the time delays.
If you are considering how to draft your pension sharing order or you require further assistance on a incorrectly drafted pension sharing order, please contact me on 0800 092 1229 or email advice@thedivorceifa.co.uk
Tags: Advice, Badly Worded, Court, Form P, Four Months, Implementation, Implementation Period, Incorrectly Drafted, Pension Arrangement, Pension Scheme, Pension Sharing Annex, pension sharing order, Pension Sharing Orders, Postponement of Implementation Notice, Rejected, Restamped, Trustees | Posted in Pension Sharing |
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