Background
Mrs D, aged 60, had received a 50% pension share against her ex husband’s Wyeth defined benefit scheme. The trustees were offering shadow membership on a money purchase basis.
Mrs D was becoming increasingly concerned as the pension sharing annex (P1) had been rejected by the scheme trustees as being incomplete.
She was looking for advice on what to do next having spoken to a number of financial advisers
She had a previous pension entitlement from her service with a bank.
She may wish to draw benefits earlier than her intended retirement age of 65 to purchase a property.
Concerns
Mrs D was unsure why the pension sharing order had been rejected.
She was confused about her options and in particular whether the existing scheme, a QROPs or a new arrangement was appropriate for her circumstances.
She was returning to the UK from a break abroad and needed everything completing before she went back to work.
What We Did
Reviewed all of her options and concluded that she should transfer her 50% pension share to a personal pension arrangement in her own name.
Discounted the existing arrangement as the trustees would have had discretion on whether she could retire early or not.
Undertook a psychometric risk profile exercise (see www.FinaMetrica.co.uk) to develop a more rounded understanding of her risk tolerance and built her a suitable asset allocated investment strategy in line with this.
The Results
Mrs D has a pension entitlement in her own right which she understands with the flexibility to draw benefits as and when she wants without the possible intervention of anyone else.
