Posted December 29th, 2010
Pension Offsetting – Need advice now?
Why not book a free no obligation review of how pension offsetting affects you.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation out there on what can and cannot be done with pension offsetting.
I offer a free 30 minute consultation by telephone so why not call me now on 0800 092 1229 to arrange or send an email to phil@thedivorceifa.co.uk Virtual sessions available webcam too!
Posted December 24th, 2010
Pension Attachment (earmarking) – Need advice now?
Why not book a free no obligation review of how pension attachment / earmarking affects you.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation out there on what can and cannot be done with pension earmarking.
I offer a free 30 minute consultation by telephone so why not call me now on 0800 092 1229 to arrange or send an email to phil@thedivorceifa.co.uk Virtual sessions available webcam too!
Posted December 20th, 2010
When appointing an expert on pension sharing matters it is always worth looking at whether the report you will receive is from an authorised source or not.
For pension sharing reports I always work in conjunction with an actuary as I always feel comforted by the fact that the actuarial assumptions being used are sensible, well thought out and take account of future changes, in for example, annuity rates and life expectancy. And if I have a problem I have recourse to the Institute of Actuaries.
So my advice when appointing is to check the credentials of who will be doing the report, what assumptions they will use and what recourse you have if things go wrong.
If this affects you or you are looking to instruct an pension expert – please contact me on 0800 092 1220 or send me an email – phil@thedivorceifa.co.uk
Posted December 17th, 2010
Sometimes when dealing with pensions it is easy to miss the fact that additional contributions have been paid. This is because not all additional voluntary contributions (AVCs) will be reflected in the cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) being quoted.
Where AVCs are being paid on a money purchase basis they will often accrue in a separate insurance company policy alongside the main scheme benefits.
So, my advice when dealing with a final salary scheme on pension sharing is to ask the question – have any AVCs been paid? It has not been unusual for an extra £30,000 plus of CETV to account for the AVCs and like the main scheme benefits they are able to have a pension sharing order placed against them.
If you would like to discuss pension sharing and AVCs, please contact me on 0800 092 1220 or send me an email – phil@thedivorceifa.co.uk
Posted December 13th, 2010
Pension Sharing Order – Need advice now?
Why not book a free no obligation review of how pension sharing affects you. Need some specific advice on a pension sharing order – I can provide it!
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation out there on what can and cannot be done with pension sharing orders.
I offer a free 30 minute consultation by telephone so why not call me now on 0800 092 1229 to arrange or send an email to phil@thedivorceifa.co.uk Virtual sessions available webcam too!
Posted December 10th, 2010
Do you know what the default option is when considering pension sharing?
In my previous blog I detailed the difference between an internal transfer and an external transfer. The default option is the underlying option that the pension scheme will implement should the pension credit member not decide how to implement the pension sharing order.
Sometimes, this can be an internal transfer or more often, it is an external transfer to a pension arrangement of the pension scheme / trustees choosing.
So, to avoid having your pension sharing order implemented by someone else or receiving a poor pension by default it is important to check your options first and let the trustees/pension scheme know what you want. It really is a case of taking the bull by the horns!
I keep a check on which pension scheme offers what. If you would like to know more about default options and pension sharing, please contact me on 0800 092 1220 or send me an email – phil@thedivorceifa.co.uk
Posted December 6th, 2010
Pension Sharing – Need advice now?
Why not book a free no obligation review of how pension sharing affects you.
Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation out there on what can and cannot be done with pension sharing.
I offer a free 30 minute consultation by telephone so why not call me now on 0800 092 1229 to arrange or send an email to phil@thedivorceifa.co.uk Virtual sessions available via a webcam too!
Posted December 3rd, 2010
Do you know the difference between an internal transfer and an external transfer in relation to pension sharing?
It is important that you do because the consequences of choosing the wrong one can be expensive.
Internal transfer – this is where the pension scheme deals with the pension share by way of an internal transfer of benefits between one party and the other (no benefits transfer away from the original pension scheme).
A pension credit is created and this will either be dealt with by offering shadow membership (i.e. matched benefits with the existing scheme – final salary for example) or alternative benefits will be offered. Sometimes these can be significantly less valuable than exact shadow membership and so it is worth checking first. Sometimes you have a choice other times you don’t.
The other route is an external transfer – this is where the pension scheme involved deals with pension sharing by way of an external transfer. i.e. they insist that the pension credit be transferred out to a new arrangement of the pension credit holder’s choosing. Therefore, these benefits are automatically different to the existing (final salary) scheme but which scheme should you transfer to?
So it pays to check what is on offer when pension sharing before entering negotiations. If you know that shadow membership is available this can be very valuable. But what if you have to transfer out would you know what to do?
I keep a check on which pension scheme offers what. If you would like to know more about internal and external transfers when pension sharing, please contact me on 0800 092 1220 or send me an email – phil@thedivorceifa.co.uk
The Divorce IFA is Phil O'Connor, a Resolution Accredited Independent Financial Adviser helping clients make better more informed financial decisions on divorce
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