Posted October 9th, 2010
The Public Sector Pension schemes – (NHS, Police, Civil Service, Local Government, Teachers, Armed Forces) are changing the way that they increase pensions in payment and revalue pensions in deferment from being linked to the Retail Price Index (RPI) to the Consumer Price Index (CPI).
RPI and CPI are measures of UK domestic inflation which are calculated by collecting a sample of prices for a selection of goods and services.
The major difference between the two measures is that RPI includes mortgage interest costs but CPI does not. Historically, this has meant that CPI has increased at a lower rate than RPI and it is therefore, expected to do so in the future.
In pension on divorce cases this change will potentially have two main knock on effects.
- It will have a negative impact on cash equivalent transfer values – the actuarial experts I have spoken with estimate that CETVs will be potentially up to 20% to 25% lower in some situations.
- It will mean that in retirement the amount of revaluation that each parties’ pension will receive will be lower.
If you would like more information on how these changes might affect you, please get in touch.
Tags: Armed Foreces, Cash Equivalent Transfer Value, CETV, CETVs, Civil Service, Consumer Price Index, Consumer Prices, CPI, Divorce, inflation, Local Government, NHS, Pension, Pension on Divorce, Pensions, pensions in deferment, pensions in payment, Pensions on divorce, Police, Public Sector Pension Schemes, Retail Prices, Retail Prices Index, revalue pensions, RPI, Teachers | Posted in Pensions & divorce |
Comments: No Comments yet!
Posted October 4th, 2010
Whilst the NHS call centre and website are saying it could be up to next April before the new cash equivalent transfer values (CETVs) / Cash Equivalent Of Benefit calculations (CTVs) commence again, I understand that the new CPI factors are now starting to become available for the Public Sector Schemes.
The Fire Service and NHS pension scheme have confirmed receipt and they will be testing their systems over the next two weeks. The other schemes – Local Government Pension Scheme, Police Pension Scheme, Armed Forces- are expected over the coming weeks.
It is hoped that the end of this embargo (see here) will be soon and we can return to normal with requesting public sector pension transfer values.
If this is something that is currently affecting you, please feel free to contact us.
Tags: Armed Forces, Cash Equivalent of Benefit, Cash Equivalent Transfer Value, CETV, CETVs, CPI, CPI Factors, CTV, CTVs, Embargo, Fire Service, Local Government, Local Government Pension Scheme, NHS Pension, NHS Pension Scheme, Pension Transfer Values, Police Pension Scheme, Public Sector, Public Sector Pension Schemes | Posted in Cash Equivalent Transfer Values |
Comments: No Comments yet!
Posted October 1st, 2010
This week I was contacted by a very concerned lady whose ex husband had not paid the implementation charge following their divorce and she wanted to know what she could do. Often, at settlement it will be agreed that 100% of the costs are paid by the other party and this will be seen as a small victory.
The implementation period will not start until all of the paperwork and the pension sharing order charges are paid. So it is important to get the charges paid as soon as possible to avoid delays. When you are relying on someone else to make payment this can be problematic.
The truth is that there is often very little that can be done as the costs of going back to court to enforce the pension sharing order can often be prohibitive. Inevitably, the only option is to pay the costs themselves.
So perhaps, prevention is the key. It is possible in some circumstances for the charges to borne from the cash equivalent transfer value. Alternatively, it might be appropriate to look to share the pension schemes which do not bear any charges. Yes, they do exist.
Here are some examples of the level of pension sharing costs involved:
UBS – £2,250 plus VAT
Police Pension Scheme- £400 plus VAT
Standard Life – £250
AVIVA – £0
With such amounts being charged and likelihood to rise in the future (see blog here) it is important to consider what the pension sharing order costs will be before agreeing the percentage split. Or deciding to pay these charges.
If this is something you would like further information on this please contact us.
Tags: AVIVA, Cash Equivalent Transfer Value, Costs, Court, Divorce, Ex husband, Implementation charge, Implementation Period, Pension Sharing, pension sharing order, Pension Sharing Order Charges, Pension Sharing Order Implementation Charges, Percentage Split, Police Pension Scheme, Settlement, Standard Life, UBS | Posted in Pension Sharing |
Comments: No Comments yet!
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 |
Comments: No Comments yet!
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 |
Comments: No Comments yet!
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 |
Comments: No Comments yet!
Posted August 16th, 2010
I am often asked who can request pension valuations and whether there should be a charge.
It should be noted that the valuation will only be provided to the scheme member and not their spouse. The pension scheme will usually allow for one free Cash Equivalent Transfer Values (CETV) quotation to be provided each year.
However, there are occasions when a charge will be applied and I have set out some examples below:
- When a further valuation is requested within the one year time frame.
- Where the pension is in payment. Because a pension in payment cannot be transferred a CETV is irrelevant. The correct basis is a cash equivalent of benefit (CEB) and there will be a cost.
- When the valuation is needed more quickly than the scheme’s normal turnaround. For example, the NHS pension scheme usually works to a 3 month turnaround time, although, they will provide it in less than 6 weeks for a charge of £300 plus VAT.
- When the member is within 12 months of normal retirement date.
- Servicing members of the Armed Forces Scheme who already qualify for immediate benefits as soon as they retire. For those members with reckonable service of more than 16 years for officers and 22 years for other ranks the scheme levies a charge of £150 plus VAT. Where the service is less than 16 years and 22 years respectively there is no charge.
The National Association of Pension Funds (NAPF) has set out guidance for pension scheme trustees on charges and you can find further information here. NAPF gives a range of charges for you to judge how much you are being charged against. Note that it is only guidance and that some schemes will charge more.
If you would like further information on CETVs, valuations and charges, please contact us on 0800 092 1229 or email advice@thedivorceifa.co.uk
Tags: Armed Forces Scheme, Cash Equivalent of Benefit, Cash Equivalent Transfer Value, CEB, CETV, Charge, Divorce, Immediate benefits, NAPF, National Association of Pension Funds, NHS Pension, NHS Pension Scheme, Normal Retirement Date, Pension, Pension & divorce, Pension in Payment, Pension Scheme, Pension valuations, Reckonable service, Scheme, Scheme member, Spouse, Valuation, Valuations | Posted in Transfer values |
Comments: No Comments yet!
Posted August 6th, 2010
The Coalition Government’s emergency budget announced that public sector pensions will in future link to the consumer prices index (CPI) rather than its current basis, the retail prices index.
This has wide reaching implications, not only for those public sector workers currently going through divorce who are unable to get cash equivalent transfer values (CETVs) or implement their pension sharing orders, but potentially, all final salary pension schemes.
The implementation of the change has been set at 3 months but this is by no means guaranteed and there is likely to be a backlog of cases. This affects all of the public sector schemes including the NHS, Fire, Police, Armed Forces, Teachers and the Local Government Pension Scheme.
It is possible to still get divorced legally but the financial settlement will not be completed without agreeing the pension settlement.
The long term implications of the move are greater. The CPI is a lower measure than RPI and so the knock on effect will be that inevitably CETVs will be lower leading to lower pension settlements.
In addition, the private sector is likely to follow suit although this will take longer as they will need to consult with their pension members.
See my comments on this in The Guardian.
For more information on this issue, please contact us on 0800 092 1229 or email advice@thedivorceifa.co.uk
Tags: Armed Forces, Cash Equivalent Transfer Value, CETV, Coalition Government, Divorce, Emergency Budget, Final Salary Pension, Financial Settlement, Fire, Local Government Pension Scheme, NHS, Pension Settlement, pension sharing order, Pension Sharing Orders, Pensions, Pensions and Divorce, Police, Public Sector Pensions, Teachers | Posted in Transfer values |
Comments: No Comments yet!
