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 P1).
- The trustees of the pension scheme were incorrectly stated (Part C – Form P1).
- The former names section of the order was incomplete (Part B – Form P1).
- The new pension arrangement is not stated (Part F&G – Form P1)
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 P1, 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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Posted August 27th, 2010
So the pension share has been agreed. You have your settlement in place and are now looking at your options on what to do next?
What can go wrong you ask? Well unfortunately, plenty of things.
In the last few months, I have dealt with a range of problems, including:
• The pension sharing order didn’t appear – whose responsible?
• The pension sharing order was drafted incorrectly.
• The receiving scheme insisting that financial advice is taken – why can’t they just implement?.
• Delays in implementation.
I intend to expand on these issues in subsequent posts but if this affects you or you require any further assistance, please contact us on 0800 092 1229 or email advice@thedivorceifa.co.uk
Tags: Financial Advice, Implementation, pension share, Pension Sharing, pension sharing order, Pension Sharing Orders, Receiving scheme, Settlement, the divorce ifa | Posted in Pension Sharing |
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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 |
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