Background
Mr & Mrs C were both aged 61, in good health, with three grown up children. Mr C had a British Petroleum pension in payment of £18,000 per annum with provision to Mrs C on death of £15,000 per annum (83%).
Concerns
- How to provide an adequate split of pension assets which was fair to both sides.
- No shadow membership available.
- CETV – poor value to both sides.
What we did
- Requested an actuarial report which stated that the share needed to be 63%:37% in Mrs C’s favour to equalise gross pension in payment of £7,000 each.
- We advised on the clients on their options including the costs of implementing a pension sharing order and the consequences of this approach.
The results
- Clients decided not divorce but legally separated.
- Mr C retained his higher pension.
- Mrs C retained her 83% benefit on Mr C’s demise.
- Both would have been short changed by a sharing order.
- Novel and innovative solution.
