Armed Forces Pensions on Divorce: Part 1
Pensions can be a tricky area to deal with during a divorce, often because they are not properly understood. There are many different types of pensions and one of the most challenging, and interesting, types to deal with are military pensions, army, naval, royal air force. This blog only touches the surface of this area but hopefully will give guidance on things to think about when dividing a military pension on divorce. This blog is one of three posts, the second post will highlight a case example and the third will give you specific questions to ask if you are separating from your spouse and have an armed forces pension.
There are three ways pensions can be dealt with during a divorce:
Which is most suitable will often require specialist advice from a solicitor and a pensions financial adviser. The main consideration during this process is what is important to the client when dividing the assets.
Offsetting is straightforward whereby one party keeps the pension in return for the other keeping an alternative asset, usually the home. Offsetting would mainly be used when the couple have children and it would be difficult to divide the non pension assets, providing housing for everyone on divorce. I regularly find that the main carer of the children, who will usually have a smaller income and therefore lower mortgage capacity, values keeping equity in the home. This deals with their immediate need over having a share of the pension. Offsetting is not a particularly mathematical approach and is instead looked at as a balancing of needs.
Pension attachment orders are rarely used, but they are something which should be considered in cases dealing with armed forces pensions which predate 2015. A share of the pension holder’s pension is allocated to the spouse and when the pension is drawn down the spouse will receive a percentage of the lump sum and the monthly income. Pension attachment is usually not very popular as the pension holder has control of when it is drawn down and what amount is taken as a lump sum. Also if the pension holder dies, the pension can be lost. Normally the pension attachment order would be set up so that if the owner died before the pension was drawn down, the death in service benefits are paid to the spouse.
Pension sharing orders are by far the most common way of dividing pensions. A pension sharing order can only be implemented after the decree absolute has been pronounced in divorce proceedings. It has the effect that a percentage of the pension is transferred to the spouse who then has control of the pension; i.e. it can be drawn down based on their retirement age and they can choose the amount of their lump sum. Pension sharing of armed forces pensions means the pension has to remain within the armed forces scheme and cannot be added to.
So, why wouldn’t everyone choose the pension sharing order if they were not to offset? This is where the Early Departure Payment ‘EDP’ comes in. Members of the armed forces who have served 18 / 20 years plus (the pension scheme they are a member of effects how long the service must be) are entitled to an EDP. The EDP is a lump sum and monthly income from the date they leave the forces until they reach retirement age. For members of the older armed forces scheme (AFP05) this is based on a percentage of the pension they have accrued. Therefore, making a pension sharing order can reduce the EDP which has a more immediate impact on the assets.
As you can see, there is a lot to be considered when dividing an armed forces pension upon divorce. And, if the above wasn’t enough, one final point to be aware of for armed forces pensions is that the valuation the armed forces pension provider gives (known as the Cash Equivalent Value ‘CEV’) is often thought to be much lower than the CEV of other pensions in the private sector because of the value of the benefits the armed forces pensions provides.
Is your head swimming? This is just an overview of things to think about when sharing armed forces pensions on divorce. I have dealt with many armed forces pensions on divorce and if you would like advice tailored to your situation then please do not hesitate to contact me via e-mail or call 02392 000086.
Hello
If I am divorcing my wife in a second marriage of only two years how much will she get. I am 56 and receiving full pension
Thanks
There is no simple answer to how much your wife will receive as there is not a formula for calculating this. All the assets will be looked at, not just the pension in isolation. Several different factors will also be taken into account including the length of your marriage, what assets you each brought to the marriage as well as the needs of both of you. You are welcome to contact us to arrange a first appointment when we can advise you in more detail based on your particular circumstances.
Can I ask for pension share advice, I was married for ten years together for 15yrs. I’ve two young children and no home or pension.
My ex husband is 36, I’m 35 he retires at 40 and is looking to get 107k lump sum then his pension. He’s offered me 25% as pension share how does this work and is this fair?
Thank you for your comment. We can’t give legal advice on this forum. However, there are a number of factors the court will consider and first priority will be given to the needs of the children. The length of the marriage is a relevant factor, as are your ages and when your ex-husband can draw his pension. However, you will see from my blog that if there is a pension sharing order on an armed forces pension part of the lump sum may not be paid until your retirement rather than when your husband draws his pension. However, there are possible alternative ways to deal with this which depend upon your circumstances and what your priorities are. It would be well worth taking legal advice on your specific situation and also advice from a pension financial adviser. If I can assist you further please do not hesitate to contact us.
Hello, I am considering divorce proceedings. I have been married for 29 years and have served in the RN for 33 years and still serving. All my children are grown up and I have ?90000 equity in my house. How much will my wife be able to claim from my pension.
Thank you for your comment, unfortunately we can’t give individual advice on this forum. We would need to know more about your wife’s financial position and what her housing situation is, as well as the details about your financial situation to look at the likely division. However, after a marriage of 29 years the starting point is likely to be an equal division of all assets but how that division is achieved varies. Capital assets can possibly be offset against the pension if you particularly wanted to protect it. You are welcome to contact us further if you wanted to follow up with more specific advice.
Hi,I got divorced in 2002, and the divorce was left open, I am now going to go to court to see if I can get any of his pension whilst we were married, which was for 10 years,we have children and grown up now so Ideally this is the best time to do it, am I still entitled ,is it worth me paying thousands in court, also will I loose it if I remarry?
Hi Leanne, thank you for your comment. We can’t give advice on this forum. However, as long as there was not a final order in relation to the finances then you have the option of obtaining an order as to the division of the finances now. After a marriage of 10 years there should be good reasons for looking at a pension sharing order. It is very important that you obtain advice on this before you remarry as your remarriage may prevent you from making financial claims against your former husband. Please feel free to contact me if you would like to follow up with detailed advice.
Hi I have been married since 2003 when my soon to be ex husband joined the raf. We were married for 9 years before the breakdown of our marriage. The only thing I left with were my own possessions and clothes. He had the car, furniture etc. Since I believe he has been ‘kicked’ out of the raf or so he professes and he is currently a gate guard at one of the bases. He has applied for a divorce through the Scottish courts which according to the paperwork does not allow me to contest any financial assets. Am I able to apply for his pension if so how do I do so?
Hello Lisa, unfortunately we cannot give specific advice on this forum. However, if you are resident in England or Wales in most circumstances you should be able to petition for divorce in the English courts. You need divorce proceedings to commence to be able, in due course, to obtain a court order as to the division of the finances which can include an order in relation to your husband’s pension. Feel free to contact me if you want to explore this further.
hi can i claim my exs army pension i was told at the beging of divorce proceedings i wouldnt get any thing can i claim it now after 25 years
Hi Lynda, thank you for your message. We can’t give advice on this forum. However, in general terms it will depend upon what happened at the time of your divorce as to whether you can make a claim on the pension. If there was an order finalising financial claims you will not be able to make a claim on the pension, you may not be able to make a claim if you have since remarried. If there was not an order finalising financial claims then we would need to look at the details of your marriage and financial situations to establish whether there is now a chance of claiming against the pension. You are welcome to email me further details to see whether it is worth exploring further.
Hi, I got married to to a member of the RAF in 1986. We have 2 children, now 24 and 28. I left my husband in late 2014 (he was having an affair) and as I work in London could not continue to live in the marital home. We own a house (mortgaged in both names). He has moved his woman and all her various children (most of which are adult) into without consulting me. I cannot afford to pay my London rent and pay into the mortgage and as I don’t live there but he insists that because of this I have no rights to the property and becomes very aggressive if I go to the house to collect my things. The house is kept in a totally disgusting state. He retired before we split, it was a medical discharge (although I was present and they did give him the option to complete to 55 years which he declined). This means he is on a tax-free pension. He insists that I am not and never would be entitled to any part of the pension. We are still officially married as he won’t agree on any financial settlement and there are no other assets. Is this correct that this type of pension does not get divided in times of divorce?
Hi, thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, we cannot give advice on this forum. However, from the information you have provided it does not seem correct that his pension cannot be divided. I also am surprised that you are still contributing to the mortgage if you have moved out and cannot afford to pay this. I think that there are lots of things that could change about your circumstances and improve your current financial position as well as future financial security. I would recommend that you take advice on your situation as soon as possible. I anticipate that you will be reassured as to likely outcomes once you have taken that advice. Please feel free to contact me directly if you would like to consider obtaining advice on your particular circumstances.
Hi my dad was in the army from 1976 to 1990 . My parents divorced two years later . My mum remarried but later divorced again. My dad has had poor health & has said that if anything happened to him before he draws his pension that even though my mum would have some rights to it ,he would want it to go to my brother & I.
Please can you tell me if such thing is possible ?
Hi Jacqueline, thank you for your comment. We cannot give advice on this forum but can confirm whether your mother would have any rights over the pension would depend upon whether there was a financial order made following the divorce. Whether some of the pension can be left to you and your brother will depend upon the rules of the pension scheme and whether they would accept you as dependants who they would pay benefits to. Your father should check this directly with the Armed Forces Pension Society.
I was granted a 50% share of my ex husbands pension from the navy in 2009 and I’m confused as to wether I get a lump sum or payments and I think I can’t get it until I’m 55 I believe any help would be great
Dear Donna, thank you for your comment. It would depend upon whether your husband had drawn the lump sum from his pension prior to the order being made to share his pension as to whether you will receive a lump sum or just monthly payments. In addition, most spouses will only receive their pension from age 60 with an armed forces pension. However, the best place to confirm your specific details will be the Armed Forces Pension Society and so you should contact them to find out what payments are due and when. I hope this assists.
Hi my second wife and i are separating with plans for divorce at a later stage.I served in the army and i’m now claiming my pension. My second wife was not in my life at any time during my army days.She is now saying she will take half my pension. Can she do this? If so how is that even fair when we were not an item until years after my service ended.
Dear David, thank you for your comment. We cannot give specific advice on this forum. As a general comment, it can be possible to argue that assets brought to the marriage should be treated differently to those accumulated during the marriage. Whether this will be successful will depend upon a variety of factors. You should obtain advice which will take into account your particular circumstances so you can understand the likelihood of your wife being able to make a claim on the pension. You are welcome to contact me further if you wish to have advice on your specific circumstances.
My soon to be ex husband served his full 24 years in the British army then went to Bahrain to work for the BDF (Bahrain Defence Force) to end his days in the forces. I met him in the gulf while he was still serving and we were together for 4 years before we got married in 2007. We separated in 2013 and he left me with absolutely nothing. He even took our 2 cars (even though he had a company car). At the time w head 2 small children so obviously I would have needed a car to do the school run, shopping etc.
Am I entitled to any of his army pension? He?s on full pension.
Thank you for your comment. You will have seen that we cannot give advice on this forum. There are many factors which are taken into account when the assets from a marriage are divided and it could well be that you would be entitled to a share of the pension. You are welcome to contact me directly and I can explain how I can assist.
My soon to be ex husband served his full 24 years in the British army then went to Bahrain to work for the BDF (Bahrain Defence Force) to end his days in the forces. I met him in the gulf while he was still serving and we were together for 4 years before we got married in 2007. We separated in 2013 and he left me with absolutely nothing. He even took our 2 cars (even though he had a company car). At the time w head 2 small children so obviously I would have needed a car to do the school run, shopping etc.
Do you reckon I?m entitled to any of his army pension? He?s on full pension.
Thank you for your comment. You will have seen that we cannot give advice on this forum. There are many factors which are taken into account when the assets from a marriage are divided and it could well be that you would be entitled to a share of the pension. You are welcome to contact me directly and I can explain how I can assist.
I divorced my husband and obtained the decree absolute on 17th August 2000. He is ian RAF officer who was having an affair at that time with a female officer. At the time of the divorce there were no assets to offset against any pension claim. He was very belligerent at the time and said I would never get my hands on any of his pension. The judge ordered as part of the divorce settlement an earmarking order against part of his pension,lump sum and death in service benefits..however rather than stating it as a percentage the judge gave a formula…..x being the number of years of the marriage and y being his pensionable years times 40%. The MOD were provided with a copy of the order at the time and acknowledged they would implement it. Now 17 years later on my former husband”s retirement they have now stated that they cannot implement this formula and that the Order has to be varied. My ex husband and I agreed the percentage…the formula is not difficult to calculate but the MOD will not agree without the Order being varied. My husband who agreed to instruct a solicitor who drafted an Order for the formula to be replaced by the agreed percentage and which we both signed and the draft Order was sent to the Court. The Judge responded by querying whether the requested variation was fair or capable of variation as it was an earmarking Order and it seems he is under the impression that we wish to vary it making it a pension sharing Order which is not the case but merely wishing to clarify the formula and have it stated as a percentage to satisfy the MOD pensions. Can the MOD refuse to implement the formula even though they have had the original Court Order for 17 years and did not voice any concerns in the wording of the Order, they confirmed at the time…I have a copy of the letter they sent my solicitors at the time saying they acknowledged the Court Order and would implement it. I cannot go back to my original solicitors as they are no longer practicing. Most solicitors I have contacted do not seem to know the answer to this situation as seemingly it is rare to have an earmarking Order in relation to pension worded as a formula. Can the MOD pensions be forced to comply with the original Order and use the formula which equates to 18.75% of my ex husbands lump sum and 18.75% of his pension. Also the judge ordered that I would be entitled to 40%of any death benefit. No s9licitor I have approached has been able to give me any advice regarding this issue of implementing the formula and the Judge now who saw the draft Order to vary the original order seems to think there is a question of fairness and whether the order can be varied as he seems to think we wish to vary the type of Order I. Each from earmarking to pension sharing which is not capable of being done. I believe my husband’so solicitors may not have properly drafted the order requesting a variation. Now the Judge wishes us both to take legal advice and get a solicitor’so letter setting out the advice given..but no solicitor seems to know what advice to give…they say this is a very rare situation and they are shying away from it… have you ever come across a similar situation and ifor so can an earmarking Order be varied to vary a working formula to equate to the percentage which the judge had in mind.?
Dear Jean, thank you for your comment. It is very difficult to give advice on this forum and without knowing the full details. However, I can confirm that although I have not dealt with your specific situation I have very recently dealt with a case where we varied to maintenance order with an earmarking order as due to the date of the petition we could not have a pension sharing order. It seems to me that the options you have considered are all possible solutions and I would be more than happy to discuss further with you to work out which is the best way to resolve matters. Do feel free to email me directly if you want to look at this in more detail.
I was divorced from my husband back in 2012. Part of our settlement was that I would receive 28% of his pension. I have no idea as to how this order will be awarded to myself at retirement age. Do I have to apply for it or will I be tracked via my national insurance number?
I have since moved home and remarried.
Thank you for your post. I am sure the uncertainty is an unnecessary worry. In the first instance are you able to ask the lawyers who represented you (assuming you had lawyers) to make enquiries as to what happened. Alternatively, my colleague, Hazel, would be able to speak to you when she returns from leave if you prefer. If you would like to speak to Hazel could you contact the office so we can get some information and arrange a time when you are free to speak with her.
Hi, i got married in 1998 and i am going through a divorce now.We have been seperated for 5 Years and at the time of him walking out we had been married 12 Years.We had a house which we bought in 2008 and when we seperated he paid me the amount back of my share that i had paid in and he kept the house as i was not able to keep it.We have no children together.He already receives 2 Pension due to a Injury while he was in the Army which totals around ?800.00 per Month but this is without his normal Army Pension as he is only 48 and still working.My Question is he pays me ?300.00 a month from this but should i be entitled to more already and am i entitled to his Army Pension too,we have no children together but while we were married i paid towards his payments towards his children for over 10 Years.I am really stuck as i do not have the means for a Lawyer.I look forward in hearing from you.
Thank you for your comment. We cannot give advice on this forum. It may well be that you are entitled to either maintenance or a pension sharing order or both but we would need full financial disclosure from you and your husband to be able to advise as to likely outcomes. Do feel free to contact us further if you would like advice or to consider the options available to you to obtain financial disclosure and negotiate an agreement.
I was divorced by my wife in 2002 after 18 years of marriage. All our children are now adults. She had the family home and a generous maintenance package.
The Decree-Nisi states that : All other claims by the Petitioner Against the Respondent (me) for periodical payments, secured provision, lump sums and property or pension adjustments do stand dismissed” Am I right in assuming that she has no claim on my army pension?
Dear David, thank you for your comment. Financial claims are only fully dismissed when a court order is made specifically dealing with the finances. The Decree Nisi in the divorce does not dismiss financial claims. It is possible to enter a court order by agreement confirming that all claims are dismissed. If you would like further help in this regard then please feel free to contact me directly.
Hello, My Aunt in Scotland has been divorced from her husband for 17 years now and believes she is entitled to 50% of her ex-husbands military pension due to a divorce agreement. Let’s say that all the appropriate steps to obtain a valuation have been completed and the courts have determined the split. When would she actually receive the cash due to her? It appears that her ex-husband has not claimed his military pension yet. I am not sure why (due to age or sheer laziness) but he now lives in the United States. So, I guess my question is, if it has been determined that she is, in fact, due 50% if his military pension, when does the money actually get paid to her? Can she receive a lump some or will it be paid as an annuity? I hope this message isn’t too disjointed. Thank You!
Dear Anne, thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, as I am sure you will appreciate, we can not give advice on this forum as we do not have sufficient understanding of all the relevant facts and circumstances. However, there are some questions you should try to find the answers to. First, is there a court order from the time of the divorce? If so, this will tell you when and how the pension is to be paid. I anticipate that if there is an order it may be for maintenance connected to the pension payments as pension sharing and attachment orders were not available in divorce proceedings commenced before 1/12/2000. However, maintenance would not be payable if your Aunt had remarried. If there is not an order, then your Aunt should obtain advice about whether it is now possible to obtain a financial order. I anticipate that she will need to obtain this advice from a solicitor in Scotland if that is where she is now resident. If there is an order, you are welcome to contact me directly so I can review it and confirm the steps you should take.
Hi I separated from my husband after 16 years of marriage in April 2013 after finding out he was having an affair. He left the raf in June 2014 taking a lump sum from his pension, and is receiving a monthly sum from it too. We have yet to divorce but he keeps telling me I?m not entitled to anything. We split the married quarter contents in half and have no assets. I?m disabled and unable to work. We have 2 children, our 15 year old son is autistic and attends a special school and our 17 year old daughter is being treated for severe depression, anxiety and self harming. We live in a rented house and I gave up my career as a children?s nanny to have our own children and move with him on each posting. I have no pension of my own. Is what he?s telling me correct?
Hi Lorraine, thank you for your comment. Your husband is not right in what he says. You do have the ability to make a claim against his pensions (assuming you are/were married and there is no order dismissing your pension claims). We would recommend that you obtain advice on your situation to find out what you could be entitled to receive in your situation. Do feel free to contact me further if you would like more information as to how we can help new clients.
Please can you explain EDP. My spouse says that it is HIS payment, not pension and I am not entitled to a share in it. He chose to take EDP following discussions with the Forces Pension Society as to what would be best for him if we separated. I had no choice in the matter and feel that it is appalling that if he had chosen pension I would be able to have a share but by choosing EDP I am totally excluded. He is claiming 50% of our joint assets and all the EDP payments and his solicitor is supporting him in this.
Dear Barbara, thank you for your comment. We cannot provide advice on this forum. However, you may find the Government booklet on armed forces pensions on divorce helpful and you can access it here: https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/551145/20160826-MMP131_AFP_guide_on_divorce_and_dissolution_of_civil_partnerships.pdf
Paragraph 2.3 is particularly relevant to your question. It is correct that payments under the EDP scheme are not pension payments to which a pension order can be attached. However, the payments are not ignored upon divorce and there are different financial orders which could be made to ensure the finances are divided fairly. I would also anticipate that there is still a pension which could be made subject to a pension sharing order but full financial disclosure about the pension and EDPs would be required to confirm this. I would recommend that you take advice on your individual situation for a full understanding of the possible financial orders which could be made upon divorce. You are welcome to contact me directly if you would like to know how I help new clients.
I am currently going through the Divorce settlement with my Ex ( Divorced in Jan 2017 ) We have been together 30 years married almost 24…The difficulty is we both live in Australia after he transferred to Royal Australian Navy after an exchange and 20 years plus service in RN. Am I best offsetting his Forces pension as a pension sharing Order made by the courts here doesn’t seem to have any legality in UK..Any advice on how this can be handled would be appreciated…Thanks
Dear Pauline, thank you for your comment. We cannot give advice on this forum and would need to know the full details of your financial situation and what you wished to achieve from the settlement before we could give advice on your question in any event. It may be best to offset, it may be possible to have a financial order made through the Australian courts registered in the English courts so you could have a pension sharing order of the English pension. Your Australian lawyers could consult English lawyers to look at the powers the English court would have in your situation. You or your lawyers are welcome to contact me directly to find out how we could help.
Currently going through a divorce and have been out of the military since 2011. I have been told different information on what term of marriage is used for calculating pension sharing order. I am not contesting a share of the pension but what to ensure it is calculated correctly, is it based on :
a. length or marriage during service (9 years)
b. full term of marriage (9 years whilst serving & 5 years since leaving)
Dear Paul, thank you for your comment on the blog. There is no set formula for deciding how many years of the pension will be taken into account when it is divided. There are different factors taken into consideration to help decide how much of the pension is shared. These factors include looking at your particular circumstances, the assets as a whole, need, the length of the relationship what you each want to achieve. We cannot give advice through this forum but you are welcome to contact me further if you would like to know how we can provide advice.
I divorced 6 years ago with no clean break order. I was medically discharged from the raf and have been inreceipt of my tax free pension for the last 12 years. Now aged 56. My wife was given a lump sum, asset from the sale of our house and I have paid her 1/2 of my pension since we separated 12 years ago. She now wants a shared pension scheme. Can she after already receiving payments for 12 years which were undeclared tax free?
Thank you for your comment. You will have seen that we cannot give advice on this forum. If there was not a financial order at the time of the divorce then financial claims potentially remain open. It would be worth obtaining advice about your specific circumstances. Maintenance payments are not taxable income, you pay the tax at source from your income. You are welcome to contact me directly if you would like to know how I can assist.
Hi my husband and I split up in 2010 a month after he had completed his full service, I didn?t touch his lump sum he has always paid maintence for the children now 7 years later his asking for a divorce and wants to pay me a spouse maintence instead of pension sharing, He has always said he would do pension sharing as he didn?t want our children to have to worry about me in later life as I have no pension as I have my career up to follow him and bring our children up. He served 23 years in the Army not including the 2 years from 16. I don?t know if I should agree to this or how it works or how the figures are worked out. I?m so confused what to do ???
Hi Kerry, thank you for your comment. As you will have seen, we cannot give advice on this forum but this is a situation that I would strongly urge you to take legal advice on to work out what is the best settlement for your situation. In many cases a pension sharing order is a better option than just spousal maintenance or you may also be entitled to spousal maintenance as well as a pension sharing order. However, every situation is different and that is why it is so important to obtain advice which is tailored to your situation. I offer a fixed fee first meeting and you are welcome to contact me directly if you would like to consider obtaining advice specific to your situation.
My partner was medically discharged from the Navy and received his SAP pension and his War Disability Pension, this was all before he married his estranged wife, they were married for 21 years before they separated.
Am I right in thinking that 1) pensions received before marriage are not open to sharing and 2) in any case, both the pensions he does receive care not open for pension sharing because of the nature of what they are?
He has no children under 18 but does have a property, which would be deemed as an asset..
Dear Lisa, thank you for your comment. Upon divorce both parties should fully disclose their current financial situation and there are a series of factors which are taken into consideration when deciding how the assets should be divided. It is certainly open to your partner to ask to keep his pensions because they were accrued before the marriage and also as they are paid to meet the needs of his disability. There is no set rule that pensions will not be shared because they were accrued before a marriage or are paid due to his injuries but they are relevant matters to be considered. I would recommend that your partner obtains individual advice on his situation and he is welcome to contact me further in this respect if he wishes to do so.
Hi..
Me and my husband divorced in 2010 I received 50% of his pension pot at the time 26.000 and have the paperwork to say what I have.My husband then left the rn after 22yrs service in 2015 .I was just wondering has he will be now receiving his pension can I get my share which has been sat for seven yrs or do I have to wait till retirement age .
Dear Joanne, thank you for your comment. If you received a pension sharing order then you will only be able to draw on your share of the pension when you reach retirement age (usually age 60 for the person receiving a share of an armed forces pension). If you have a pension attachment order then you will receive your share when your ex husband draws on the pension. Your court paperwork will confirm the type of pension order you have but you may want to contact Veterans Uk directly to check the position.
Are you not entitled to draw this aged 55? I have been in receipt of mine since 55 (6 yrs now). I had to ring up MOD Pensions to enquire and request it. I was advised they don’t co text you to let you know. Good job I read it somewhere or Id still be waiting.
A very different question please. Both my husband and I have been married before. He retired early and before we met. He is an ex RAF officer A/C 34 yrs service. We have been married for 16+ years, living on his raf pension.We are both retired I have never served in the military and he only has his state pension besides his raf one. If we divorce will he be expected to support me?
Obviously neither of us work now. I’m so confused and worried how I will manage.
Dear Brenda, thank you for your comment. When looking at incomes on divorce we would look at both yours and your husband?s reasonable outgoings, your respective incomes from all sources and from that decide what support your husband should pay you. As you are both retired it is more likely that there would be a pension sharing order to divide the incomes rather than maintenance but we would need to know more about your financial situation to advise as to the best way forward for you. You are welcome to contact me directly if you would like me to help further.
Hi my name is Mandy.
I am currently going through a divorce my husband phoned me in October and ended our marriage over the phone ..
I was advised it was best for me to file for a divorce .
WE have been married 15 years and he only has 18 months left the he’s done his full 22 years .
WE BOUGHT A HOUSE together I am better leaving the pension and fighting for the house
What is the best option for me to choose .??
Or can I force him to buy his pension out and receive a lump sum when divorced ??
Thank you Mandy
Dear Mandy, thank you for your comment. It really depends upon the value of the home and the pension, what you want to achieve, whether there are children and where they will be living as to whether it is best to seek to offset your interest in the pension to keep more of the home. Every separation is different and there are a number of factors to be considered when looking at how the assets should be divided. You would benefit from having an appointment with a solicitor to give you advice which is specific to your situation. If you would like to consider an appointment with me then do feel free to contact me directly.
My ex was in the UDR /Royal Irish regiment for 20+years I was married to him for 22 years and divorced him on grounds of unreasonable behavior two years ago am I entitled to part army pension..I would not take a penny but I’m living in a refuge in england and he pays me small amount of spousal maintenance I can hardly survive while he has his own business as a window cleaner.
Dear Deborah, thank you for your comment. Did you receive any legal advice at the time of the divorce and was there a financial order made at that time? If there was not a financial order on the face of it I would certainly expect you to have a claim on the pension. I can offer you a fixed fee first meeting if you would like advice on your situation and the options available to you. If this is of interest then please do contact me directly.
Thinking no to part of my divorce my ex husbands solicitor confirmed that he was not due a future pension after I think 15/16 years of service so could not make any future claims.,..was this correct or was I lied to
Thank you for your comment. It would be helpful to know when you got divorced to be able to help you as pension orders have only been possible if the divorce petition is dated from 1st December 2000 or later but there would have been other ways to deal with this if your petition is older than this. If your petition dates after this then you could have made a claim against the pension and any other assets but there are a variety of factors the court looks at when deciding how the assets should be divided. Please feel free to contact me directly if you want to provide me with more detail about your situation.
Myself and my husband have just got divorced after 27 years marriage. Now we are trying to decided on the pension sharing, he?s offering me 47% of the pot. Is it correct that when it?s sorted I can take a lump sum out of my percentage or do I have to wait til when? His retirement age? Or a set time? My solicitor is looking into a report apparently something I need to decide the value of 47%
Thank you for your comment Debbie. Have you asked your solicitor the questions you are asking on this blog? They will be better placed to answer them as they will have the full information about the pension and the proposed share and when/if you can take the lump sum. Usually, if the pension has not already been drawn down and you are to receive a pension sharing order then you will be able to take your share of the lump sum when you can draw down on the pension. I would recommend that you ask your solicitor these questions as they should be able to answer them for you or if a report is to be obtained then the report should answer the questions.
Hi my ex husband and I agreed to offset his pension and I had the house when we divorced 8 years ago. He has now retired after 31 years and has no job to go to. Our children are 17 and 15 and in full time education, as his pension is his only income does he still have to pay a percentage of his pension as a maintenance payment for the children or is his pension not considered income due to it being offset.
Thank you for your comment, Lisa. I would need to see whether there was an order setting out the financial arrangements to advise you fully. However, my expectation would be that as child support is governed by the Child Maintenance Service and they would include the pension income when assessing child support that he does still have to pay a percentage of his income as child support. You may find that a telephone call to the Child Maintenance Service will help answer your question. This does not mean you have to use them to deal with the child support but they will be able to give you guidance to help you and your ex-husband what payment should be made.
hello my husband and i have been married for 14 yrs. married in 2003 he is in the navy we separated in 2014 as he was having affairs. we have two children under 16 we have no house as was living in navy accommodation. i am not renting privately. he has move on and had other child. he has now cut the payment from 380 monthly to 300 for his two kids can he do this. looking to start divorced proceeding
Am i entile to his pension. As he says he will remarry and i wont get his pension.
Any advice on this on where i can go am not working as have his son who is two so limited funds
Dear Rowena,
Thank you for your comment. Have you used our child maintenance calculator to work out the amount of child support your husband should be paying? You can access it here. It sounds like you should invest in some initial advice with a solicitor about your situation. A fixed fee meeting would enable the solicitor to advise you about the options if you are to divorce, the process and also discuss the financial claims you could make. I would expect you to be able to make a claim for a pension sharing order to provide you with a pension fund upon retirement. A pension sharing order would mean that you have a pension fund in your own name and if your husband were to remarry you would not lose your pension fund. I offer a fixed fee meeting and hopefully this would set you up to decide what you would like to do and enable you to move matters forward if you chose to do so. Please do contact me if you are interested in having a fixed fee meeting.
I divorced my ex wife in 2011 and although the decree absolute had no financial settlement I had continued to pay the mortgage on the family home of ?600+ and voluntary paid CSA. ?400+ . Unfortunately my circumstances changed and I could no longer pay both. I suggested the property be sold and profits split 50/50, however my ex declined and contacted the CSA to collect funds, I could no longer pay the mortgage and the 250K property was repossessed and sold at auction for 110k.
My sister has now informed me that my ex is trying to get a percentage of my 22year pension. We was married for 5.5 years of my recognisable service.
My question is, is she entitled to any of my pension even though there was the financial settled was zero in 2011
Dear Glen, thank you for your comment. We cannot give specific advice on this forum. If a financial order was not made at the time of the divorce then it is usually open to either one of you to make a financial claim against the other arising from the marriage. Re-marriage can prevent claims from being made but not always. However, if a claim is now made by either of you, what happened upon separation to the finances and following separation will be factors the court can take into account when deciding what is fair when making the financial order. You are welcome to contact me directly if you would like advice for your specific situation and I can explain the ways in which I could help.
My ex already receives a monthly pension and received a lump sum when he retired from the army (which we spent on our home) We are currently going through a financial settlement at court. My question is when he produces his CEV will this be what he is entitled to when he reaches retirement age. I understand that his pension he already draws on increases when hes 55. Also he was ordered to produce the CEV by the judge at the first meeting. He still hasnt done this and we are due to attend FDR in 2 weeks time. My solicitor says we can put an order in for him to pay “costs” due to the delay in producing the CEV. Does this mean the court costs or can I claim the cost of my solicitor.
Dear Jody, thank you for your comment. As you will have seen from my other responses, we cannot give you individual advice on this forum. Have you asked these questions of your solicitor as they know the background to your situation and should be able to answer your questions for you? The CEV is the value of the pension pot. There should be separate information about the benefits your ex husband will receive from his pension and when those benefits will be paid when the CEV is produced. However, it may well be that an actuarial report will be needed to look at what benefits your husband will receive aged 55 and how they can be shared. If your husband is ordered to pay costs then it will usually be your solicitor?s costs relating to the preparation and attendance at the FDR. I really do recommend that you ask your solicitor the questions you have raised.
Hi
I met my husband in 1975 and got married in April 1977. He came out the army 1993. In September 2014 my husband walked out. We have sold our house and with the equity ?155,00 with help from my daughter has managed to buy a little flat. My husband has moved abroad and is planning to ask for a divorce to marry his Phillipino girlfriend who is many years younger and has known for less than a year. He is not in good health so my question is would I be entitled to a widow’s pension or would it go to his new wife if he decides to marry her?
Dear Joan, I think you should obtain some advice on your situation as swiftly as possible about the best way to protect the pension for you. While you remain married the widow?s pension should be protected for you, but once you divorce and if he remarries, the widow?s pension would go to his new wife. It is very important in this situation that the pension is dealt with before the divorce is concluded. If you would like to set up an initial consultation with me, then do contact me directly.
I was awarded a pension sharing order on divorce from armed forces husband who was already demobed and receiving his pension.
I can?t draw on my share until I?m 65 ? Can I withdraw fully or a lump sum I really could do with the cash ..
Hi Tina, thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, you cannot draw either the income or the lump sum from the pension until the retirement date specified for you. This can vary slightly depending upon which AFPS scheme it is from age 60 – 67.
Hi. I got my PSO on divorce in 2007 on the old AFPS scheme. 5 yrs k asyer I read I was now entitled to draw at 55 rather than retirement. Ramdmg and queried this to be told it was correct. The Law had changed but thry dint notify anyone to let them know.Put in my Application 3 months Rob the day before 55 birthday and been drawing for 6 years now. I hope this works out for you too.
Hi, I am entitled to a part forces pension having served 14 years, leaving in 1990. My ex wife and I divorced later that year with no children. She remarried in 1991 and is still married. I remarried in 1992 to my current wife and we live in Australia with two children.
I have no paperwork but believe we had split assets amicably, I got the car, she got the house and continued to pay the mortgage.
I had a phone call a few months ago saying she believed she was entitled to some of my forces pension.
I am not sure if this is correct , or even what I need to do to to confirm this. I feel that after 27 years surely its over.
Hi Ray, thank you for your comment. As you will have seen from other comments, we cannot give individual advice on this forum. Do you remember who was the Petitioner in the divorce proceedings? If it was you, then your ex wife, as a result of her remarriage, would not be able to make any further financial claims against you arising from the marriage. If she was the Petitioner, then the situation is slightly more complicated. After the length of time you have been separated it is likely to be very difficult for your ex wife to make a claim against your pension. You are welcome to contact me directly should she ever try to pursue this for advice specific to your circumstances.
Hi, I was married to my ex husband for 27 years and together for 32 years when we got divorced 9 years ago. I receive half of his RAF pension as an attachment order every month. His lump sum eas put into our property. I took the property on and gave him half of its value as a lump sum. My solicitor at the time advised me to go back to court when I reach retirement age to get the pension changed to pension sharing as this will then mean I will have my half in my own right and will protect me if he passes away. Is this something that can be done and what age would i be able to do this.? I’m 58 at the moment. Many thanks
Hi Kim, thank you for your comment. We cannot give advice on this forum. I would not be able to answer your question in any event without seeing the terms of the financial remedy order. It can be possible to vary an order to provide for a pension sharing order but it depends upon the terms. The AFPS scheme your ex husband is a member of can also affect when you would be able to draw your share of the pension if you had a pension sharing order, often it is not until age 60 but not always. You are welcome to email me a copy of the order directly if you want me to confirm whether you have the ability to apply for a variation and therefore how I could help you do this.
Hi I was married to a.navy man for 25 yrs in fact all off his naval career we got divorced and the pension order comes under afp75 .He is not expected to live much longer on my letter it says widow or spouses death be If it with a figure beside it if he dies do I get that amount I’m confused I am receipt of the naval pension as I requested it when I was 55 my ex husband has remarried am i entitled to the widower benefit even though not married
Dear Alison. Thank you for your comment. Hazel Manktelow is our specialist in relation to Armed Forces’ Pensions. Hazel is on annual leave until 16th April. Can I suggest that you check this link to see whether your question is answered here, and if not, may I suggest you contact the MOD. If that still leaves the issues unresolved I am sure Hazel will be able to assist upon her return.
Hi my husband has completed 22years then signed up for a further 15 years which he completed in Jan 2016, so now recieves 2 pensions, we have now been separated for 2 years gone March and im looking in to divorce proceedings, at the time of separation we had been married for 31 years if we count the 2 years of separation then it will be 33years as on paper we are still legally married. I do not get anything off him as we our two children are 38 and 32. Is it possible to let me know if i will be entitled to any of his pension on divorce and if so what percentage please.
Thank you for your enquiry. My colleague, Hazel Manktelow who would ordinarily deal with a response to an enquiry over an Armed Forces? pension, is presently on annual leave, but I hope I am able to help you. Before you take any action I think it would be a really good idea to speak to a specialist ? and Hazel would be to assist you ? to look at your options and to consider your entitlement. After a lengthy marriage you can certainly expect a court to make provision for you in relation to the pensions generated by your husband during the relationship (as well as considering other assets that may have been generated). As to what that percentage may be is difficult for me to say at the moment, but on the face of it you would certainly be looking to have a broadly equal share of the income generated from the pensions or in the alternative broadly equal share of the value of the funds. That is something that will need to be looked into with some specialist assistance. Would you be willing to contact us so that we can arrange for Hazel to speak to you when she’s back from leave?
I am divorced and my ex has a pension sharing order. I am in receipt of my AFPS75 pension. I’m about to remarry. Does my new spouse have any entitlement in the event of my death?
Dear Rob. Our Armed Forces’ Specialist, Hazel Manktelow, is on annual leave until 16th April. May I suggest that you check this link to see whether you may find the answer here. If not, Hazel will be happy to assist you upon her return. I hope this assists.
Hi,
I have been married for almost 10 Years and seperatred for 3 years.
My husband had an affair 3 years ago and the house has been sold since.
He is in the merchant navy and has been for many years.
I am interested to know if it would be possible to claim any of the pension he has accumulated over the years while we was married.
Thanks
Karen, thanks for reading our blogs and for contacting us. You will be able to claim against the pension (and any other assets).
My colleague Hazel Manktelow specialises in Armed Forces? Pensions. She is on annual leave, but if you are willing to call our switchboard we can arrange for Hazel to speak to you when she is back. She can explain how best to proceed to protect your position. I hope that helps.
Hi I have been with my husband 14 years married 7 he left me 6 month’s ago and now is looking into divorce I’ve not a clue on pensions
Hi Katherine, thank you for your comment. The best step you can take is to meet with a solicitor so they can give you some advice specific to your situation. They will need to know the background to your situation, some broad information as to the assets and you can then be given some advice about the likely outcomes to your situation. Within that meeting you should also receive information and advice about how pensions can be dealt with on divorce. If you are interested in having that meeting with me then please do feel free to contact me directly.
Hi iv recently been divorced from my ex spouse and been separated since jan 14 i knaw shes entitle to a percentage of my army pension i am still serving in the army ii have sent all the relevant paper work as requested by her solicitor i also sent a covering letter to him to say i was not going to pay the ?180 fee for a full statement as its not me that requires this information i recently got a reply saying thats its not my ex wifes responsibility to pay this fee just wondering if you could give me some guidance on who pays this as its not me that needs tbis this info
Thank you for your comment. You will have seen from comments above that we cannot give advice on this forum. However, in general terms as it is your asset which you have to disclose information about if there is a cost to obtain that information then you are responsible for that cost. Sometimes it may be possible to share the cost but that will depend upon the circumstances. While it may be your ex spouse’s wish to have the information it is standard information that will help both of you to settle the case.
Hi, I was in the Forces for 22years..1972 -1995..I was married in 1979..I was divorced in 2000 with an separation agreement set up that she would get 40% of my forces pension which i would pay her monthly.I am currently paying her 40% to her account….I have been paying this for some time now but it has just occured to me . Am I overpaying?..Should I only be giving her 40% of that part of the pension accrued whilst we were married and i was in the forces..ie First seven years of forces time I was single, the other 15 years we were married? Living in Scotland Scottish law?
Thank you for your comment. If an order was made at the time of the divorce setting out how much you are to pay to your ex wife from the pension then this would confirm the amount you are to pay. The negotiations to reach that order should have taken into account the length of time you were married against the time the pension was accrued if relevant to your situation. The jurisdiction in which the order was made is also the relevant one, not where you are living now. Depending upon what the wording of the order is and your current circumstances it may be possible to apply for a downward variation of the amount you pay. You are welcome to contact me directly if you would like to explore this possibility.
hi, I divorced my husband ten years ago, and knew nothing about being entitled to some of his army pension, am I still able to claim this and how would I start the process?
Thank you for your comment. It will depend upon whether a financial order was made at the time of your divorce, whether you were the Petitioner or Respondent in the divorce proceedings and whether you have remarried since as to whether you can now make a claim on the pension. You are welcome to contact me directly with this information so I can look further at whether the option is open for you to make a claim.
Hi there, I divorced after 10 years of marriage. He was in the army. He left approx a year later, after serving 12 years. So he would have had a pension. I didn’t appreciate this at the time, and just walked away. Sold the house and shared the proceeds.
It is now 28 years later. Is there anything I can do about this.
Hi, thank you for your comment. There are several factors which will affect whether you could still make a claim against the pension to include; whether there was a financial order made at the time you divorced, whether you were the petitioner or respondent in the divorce proceedings and whether you have remarried. As your divorce took place 28 years ago you would not now be able to apply for a pension sharing order but there may be other options available. If you would like advice specific to your circumstances then please contact me directly and I can explain how I can help further.
I married in 1988 when my husband was a lieutenant, we divorced in 2010 by which point he was a lieutenant colonel, in our divorce settlement i was allocated 25% of his pension. i have now been told that at 55 he will receive his full pension (how ever it is paid to him), and i was wondering as and when i will receive what was allocated to me?
Thank you for your comment. This is a question you should raise with Veterans UK directly as they will be able to give you the answer as to the earliest you can draw upon your share of the pension. It is likely to be when you turn 55 but you will need to check. In addition, you may want to consider taking advice from an independent financial adviser as to the impact upon the pension if you were to draw upon it from age 55.
Hi my ex husband is currently in hospital with terminal cancer and has been given weeks possibly months at best, we have 3 children together together and when we were divorced there was no financial order set up as it was a clean divorce. So I was wondering when it comes to making the claim on his pension when he passes, would that be myself or his eldest child?
Thank you for your comment. This may be a situation where you wish to obtain urgent advice and ascertain whether you can at short notice enter a consent order giving you a share of your husband’s pension before he passes away. Without this, as you are no longer married you will not be entitled to anything from the pension once he passes away. You would need to check with Veterans UK as to whether there is a dependant’s allowance for the children. You are welcome to contact me directly for urgent advice on your situation and I can explain how we help new clients.
Hi. I was married 15 years with my ex husband. (Army, E8) I just found out he is going to retire next spring and I need to fill some paperwork so I can receive some of his pension. Does JAG provide the paperwork? I was told by my lawyer to use civilian person, but that cost over $1000. Also, if I get remarried, do I loose my ex husband?s pension?
Thank you for your comment. We can only provide help and advice on English law and how divorce in the jurisdiction of England and Wales can affect pensions.
Hello. I was married to my ex husband for four years. He served in the army for 22 years. During the divorce he would not disclose any assets or his army pension. My solicitor at the time then advised me not to enter a clean break as he requested via his solicitor. I was the petitioner and we had no children. Is it possible to claim any of his army pension. He has since remarried
Thank you for your comment, Linda. As you will have seen, we can’t give advice on this forum. However, if there was not a financial order at the time of your divorce and you were the Petitioner in the divorce proceedings then you can still make a financial claim. You may want to look at our factsheet on Settling Financial Issues on Divorce to help understand matters considered when dividing the assets : https://1gu3xt3qq8id2mr6f51sklsr-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Settling_financial_issues_following_divorce.pdf For advice on your individual situation please feel free to contact me directly so I can explain how I can help further.
I was made redundant on 12 Jun 13 as it was the cheapest way to get ill non-deployable people like me out of the Services, I was not medically discharged with all the costly support. Do suck on teeth. I have been on a 60% (Unfit fir work) war pension ever since and my prognosis is that this will not change. I receive an immediate military pension of ?1145.40 and both children are over 18 yrs old. They will live with me when not at University.
My wife and I are divorcing and although I know a War Pension cannot be subject to a PSO and believe it can be considered when looking at income. My wife wants spousal support, she has a 30 hour job and earns marginally less than my military pension. I have suggested she works full-time rather than part time, is this considered when looking at income? If she took 50% of my military pension of ?1145.40 (?572.70), I could not pay her claim of ?600.00 spousal support. Can it be claimed against my War Pension?
Steven, thank you for your comment. You are correct that a War Pension cannot be made subject to a pension sharing order but that the income from it can be considered when spousal maintenance is looked at. There is no set formula for calculating spousal maintenance, incomes are not automatically halved. Instead, we need to look at both of your incomes and outgoings and whether spousal maintenance should be paid and if so, at what level. As you will have seen, we cannot give specific advice about your situation on this forum but you are welcome to contact me directly and I can explain how we help new clients.
Hi I left the Army in 2017 after serving 24 years, I split from my wife in 2014 after 4 years of marriage I?m seeking divorce there are no other assets except my army pension we have 2 young children which reside with her and I pay my CSA I?m going for a clean break divorce and happy to give the court my financial income including annual pension amount what can I expect and how much pension will she get her hands on
Noel
Hi, my naval pension was transferred to wife in its entirety as part of a financial settlement following our divorce. My ex-wife has recently died. Is the transfer irrevocable? In other words does it die with her or can I recover any or all of it?
Hi, thank you for your comment. I would expect the order to be irrevocable. However, it may be worth contacting Veterans UK on 0800 085 3600 directly to double check. I hope this assists.
Hi I was awarded 40% of my ex husband military pension and I am able to claim it at 55 at a reduced rate instead of waiting until I’m 65.
His pension goes indexed linked at 55 will it be the same for my part?
Hi, thank you for your comment. This is a question you would either need Veterans UK or a financial adviser to answer. I would suggest that you try contacting Veterans UK initially.
Many thanks for your prompt response Hazel. I will do as you suggest
Hi Hazel
I served in the Army for 12 years between 1977-1990.
I was married to my first wife for 8 years during this time.
We divorced in 1993, and she remarried a couple of years later.
I also remarried.
I will be eligible to start drawing my Army pension next year at age 60.
Can you tell me if my first wife would have any claim on part of my Army pension?
Hi Michael, thank you for your comment. You will have seen that we cannot give advice on this forum. If there was an order about financial matters at the time of the divorce then this will set out whether your ex wife has a claim on the pension payments. However, please consider that pension sharing orders could only be made for couples where the divorce petition dates after 1 December 2000 and pension attachment orders can only be made where the petition dates on or after 1 July 1996.
I was married to my husband for 23 years he was in the army for 24 years of which i was with him for the 23 if that makes sense. I have contacted a solicitor to seek claiming half of his pension. How does it work do i get a lump sum or can i ask for a lump sum or is it not a decision that can be made and only up to the pension place as to how and when i get it. I am not claiming for anything else ie; savings or maintenance. Our 3 children are all over 2.
Thank you for your comment. As you will have seen, we can?t give advice on this forum. I can explain the following though. A pension sharing order works so that the pension value is divided and your share will generate a pension for you. A pension attachment order pays you a share of the income each month and a share of the lump sum if it has not been drawn. Offsetting provides you with a lump sum of money instead of a share of the pension but this can only happen if there are other assets to pay the lump sum from. What is right for you will depend upon your circumstances. You are welcome to contact me directly and I can explain how I can help you further.
My mum and dad married in 1967. He was in the Royal Marines. My mum gave up her career in 1968 to follow him around the world and have me and my brother. They were married for 22 years when my dad had an affair and left her. That was in 1988. My mum struggled to survive financially because she didn’t have a career. During the divorce proceedings she fought for his pension but it was 1988 and no one could claim a spouses pension. It was a messy divorce, my dad didn’t play a fair game and the settlement took 11 years! She fought for 11 to get a claim on his pension. She settled in 1999. Less that a year later the law changed and pensions could be claimed. You can imagine how angry she was! Fast forward to today and I still feel very bitter towards this whole situation. My mum still struggles and I think it’s terribly unfair. Could she have a claim now? Has there ever been a case where someone has been awarded a pension claim even though they tried to claim prior to 2000? She’s never re-married. Thank you.
Thank you for your comment, Helen. The law is very clear that there is a cut off date as to when pension claims can be back dated to and the date of your mum’s petition is prior to that date. Unfortunately, there is no remedy for her to make a claim for a share of the pension. If there is ongoing maintenance paid to her by your father then this could be open to review and she is welcome to contact me directly to see whether that is an option.
Hi, my exhusband and I divorced in 2005 after 12 years of marriage 3 kids and pregnant with 4th. He was an utter ass, refused to help financially with kids, left the army in a hissy fit as blokes gave him a hard time about how he treated me and never worked again and stalled divorce proceedings and refused to attend court so judge awarded me 100% of his pension. I know I can’t claim any of it until I reach retirement age, which with this government is likely to be 90 by the time I get there, but I have found out I have breast cancer. I have a partner of 12 years who has raised the kids. If I die early what happens to the pension, can I transfer it to go to him or the kids or does it revert back to him
Hi, thank you for your comment. I would recommend that you start by contacting Veterans UK on 0800 085 3600 and explain your situation. They will be able to confirm to you the earliest you can draw your pension and whether you have any ability to draw from it due to your health. You may also want to contact a financial adviser who specialises in pensions for advice. I hope this assists.
I have been married for 28 years to ex-RAF service man. We are now separating. He has 15 years service. He has ?70k equity in our house we share. Am I entitled to take my share of his pension and off set it against his equity, and offer him a pay off to leave me the house and walk away? Roughly how much am I looking at getting from him? We have 2 grown up children but one still lives at home.
Hello, thank you for your comment. As you will have seen, we cannot give advice on this forum. In addition, to give you advice which is specific to your circumstances we would need more information from you. There are a series of factors the court considers when assets are divided upon a separation, which can include offsetting equity in the house against the pension. If you would like advice on your situation then do contact me directly and I can explain how we help new clients.
Hi,
My husband served in the UK military for over 20 years. We now live overseas and have recently got divorced. In preparation for the financial settlement how can I apply for part of his military pension from overseas?
With thanks.
Thank you for your comment. Applying to share the pension in the UK after a divorce overseas is a specialist area which I can help you with. You are welcome to contact me directly so I can explain how I can help and explore the options for dealing with the pension.
Hiya
I was married to a serving soldier for 14 yrs and together for a total of 20yrs. We have a 13yr old whuch i have no matainence for as he pays 50% of our joint mortgage. He has an army pension of 1000 a month. We ve been seperated for 4yrs but i cant afford to divorce at present.
Am i entitled and what amount of his pension.
Thank you for your comment. Yes, I would expect you to be entitled to a share of the pension after a relationship of 20 years. However, without knowing further details about your situation I couldn?t advise you as to the likely amount of pension you would receive as we look at all the finances when the assets are divided. We cannot give individual advice on this forum but you are welcome to contact me directly if you would like to know how we can help new clients. You would need to start divorce proceedings to be able to obtain a court order to share the pension and so there will be some costs involved to resolve matters.
Hello,
I am currently going through a divorce and my soon to be ex wife has said that she will be making a pension sharing order against my pensions. I have no desire to keep from her what she is entitled to, but acting without representation, it has been difficult to get hold of clear guidance regarding the pensions I receive. I was discharged in July 2015, awarded a Service Invaliding Pension and a War Pension at 50 % because the injuries were attributable to a previous injury in 2004. These are both tax free and I receive them now aged 34.
My question is how are these pensions treated during a pension sharing order – given that they are both tax free and will the SIP and War Pension both be accessible during a sharing order?
I served for 12 and a half years, we were married for around 7 of them.
Many thanks in advance.
Thank you for your comment. You will have seen that we cannot give individual advice on this forum. War pensions cannot be shared under the terms of a pension sharing order but the income you receive from them will be considered when the assets are divided. If you would like to contact me directly I can explain how I help new clients and how I can advise you as to the options and likely outcomes.
I served for 12 yrs then married when I left.Together 4yrs separated nearly 9.(no children together).Can My soon to be ex wife claim on my pension
Thank you for your comment. Yes, your ex wife could make a claim on the pension as all financial assets are looked at upon divorce. However, whether she would be successful in making a claim on the pension in the circumstances you have outlined is a different matter. I would need further information about your situation to be able to advise as to the likely outcome and you are welcome to contact me directly to find out how I could help further.
Hi
My wife and I separated after a 21 year marriage (20 years while serving). We divided our assets and agreed an off setting package which consisted of ?80,000 cash a mortgage free refurbished home valued at ?170,000 the family car and pretty much everything from the house as our two children were going to live with her (ages at the time 16 and 13). My son then came back to live with me at age 15. We are still waiting to get divorced as we wanted to wait the 5 year period.
I kept a smaller property valued at ?155,000.
She has now decided that she also wants a share of my pension.
Where do I stand and is the original offsetting agreement ( verbal only, nothing documented) taken into consideration in a court of law?
Thank you for your comment. You will have seen that we cannot give advice on this forum. You would benefit from having advice specific to your situation so that we can explore what was said and happened at the time of the separation and division of the assets and what impact that now has. You are welcome to contact me directly if you would like to know how I can help.
I was married in 1967-1989 knew nothing about claiming part of my ex husbands RAF pension. I remarried for a few years also ending in divorce in 2002. I have just been told about Being entitled to a share of ex RAF pension, I spoke to my ex who said I was not entitled to anything as I had remarried also left it to late to claim, I am 69yr old have no income except for state pension and pension credit. Can you please clarify what my situation is.
Thank you for your comment. Pension sharing orders were unfortunately not available at the time of your divorce and cannot be backdated and you would not be able to make a claim against the pension now.
I married my second wife age after leaving Royal Navy with a pension. Where do I stand regarding my pension
Thank you for your comment. As you will have seen, we cannot give advice on this forum. You are welcome to contact me directly with more detail about your situation and I can set out how I can help. Much more information will be needed before a solicitor could give you advice on the likely outcome and whether your pension is likely to be shared. You may find our factsheet about Settling Financial Issues following Divorce a helpful starting point: https://1gu3xt3qq8id2mr6f51sklsr-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/Settling_financial_issues_following_divorce.pdf
Hazel Manktelow
Consultant Solicitor & Mediator
Family Law Partners
Direct Dial: 023 9200 0086
Mobile: 07495 746897
I wondered if you could please give some advice regarding applying for half of my husband’s Army pension plus his Civil Service one we finally divorce in Oct 2020.
At the present time we have been separated since Oct 2019,there are no children involved and had been married for 27 yr when we split,its a amicable one and my husband has already agreed to my getting half of his 2 pensions.
Am I right in thinking that i cannot apply to claim for half of the above pensions until after the Divorce has been properly finalised and also that I will need the services of either a Financial Advisor or Solicitor to apply for this claim?
I would appreciate any advise that you can give.
Kind regards
Sharon
Thank you for your comment. I am glad to hear that you are managing to deal with matters amicably. You are correct that pension sharing or pension attachment orders can only be made once divorce proceedings have started. You will need a court order before the pension companies can share the pension. It is likely you will need financial advice on the best way to share the pension, but not always. You are welcome to contact me directly if you require further help on moving matters forward.
Hi, I am amicably divorcing my wife. I am currently serving. Will my EDP payments go down if give my wife a % of my AFPS 15. I was considering either giving 10% of my AFPS 75 or 80% of my AFPS15 (they equate to the same in ?). My understanding is as I have done over 20 years it would not matter whether I gave her 0% to 100% of my AFPS 15 – my EDP would be the same. It is only at the age 60 (when the debit and credit are calculated) that I would receive 20% (+anything additionally accrued) and my wife would receive the 80%. Grateful for an indication if this is correct?
Thank you for your comment. EDPs are not considered pension payments and so they cannot be made subject to a pension sharing order. However, if a pension sharing order is made then your EDPs will reduce even though the legislation is quite clear that EDPs are not a pension which can be shared. EDPs will only be paid to the serving member as they are a benefit you accrue as a result of your service but they cannot be paid to anyone else. I hope this assists.
HI,
I am currently mid divorce with my husband. He served in RN and was in the Navy when we married. He says I have no rights to any of his military pension as he had contributed to it prior to our marriage, he does not want this taken into account during proceedings, we are Scottish, living in Scotland. He left the RN three years after we were married, his pension has not been touched and he is now 63. Can I make a claim on his pension and any interest accrued on the whole pension or only part thereof,in Scottish Law
thanks, Carol
Thank you for your comment. Unfortunately, I am unable to advise on Scottish Law and as you are both living in Scotland then Scottish law will prevail. Veterans UK who administered armed forces pensions do recognise orders made in Scotland about Armed Forces Pensions and will act upon those orders.
Hi I got divorced earlier this year and my ex wife was awarded 40%of my pension but I have since learned that she is about to remarry is she still entitled to that 40%
Thank you for your comment. If a pension sharing order was made then your ex wife’s remarriage does not change her entitlement to the share of the pension she received. If a pension attachment order was made then the payments should stop when your ex wife remarries although you would need to notify Veterans UK of the change.
I divorced my wife and she was awarded a 37% Pension Share of my military pension at the 12 year point. I said no to this as she received a lump sum of 22k, all of the contents of the house and the brand new car I bought for her just before we separated. The judge (male) in the morning said that she was not to expect a share of the pension because she had enough from the money and possessions and to go out of chambers and think about her claim. The judge then took a phone call and was substituted by a second judge (female) who banged her gavel down within seconds of entering and said 37% split and that was that. I did not sign the agreement yet it was still actioned by Glasgow. Is this correct? can a second judge who has not been read in do that? Is the paperwork even legal as my signature is not on it to agree? My solicitor did not sign it either.
Thank you for your comment. We cannot give specific advice on this forum. If you have a solicitor they will be best placed to answer your questions. I can help and you are welcome to contact me directly but I would need to see the paperwork to understand what happened and to give advice which will take some time and incur a charge.
I have been out of the army since 2006, i divorced in 2015 ( clean break, no issues) . i remarried in 2017 and my current wife is going to divorce my, is she entitled to anything from my army pension? She says she’s coming after half of it
I’m sorry to hear of your situation. You will have seen that we cannot give advice on this forum. As a general principle, it’s not uncommon for a short marriage for parties to be able to ring fence the assets they brought to the marriage but it does depend upon many other factors. If you would like to know how I can help you and give you advice specific to your circumstances you are welcome to contact me directly.
I am already retired and aged 61 and in receipt of my AFPS 75 Pension. My wife and I divorced approximately 7 years ago, we got back together for 6 years but have decided to now go our separate ways. On initial divorce we both agreed that I would simply pay her half my monthly pension which I have done. Nothing was official or formalised, however she would now like to formalise this arrangement. Is it possible to do this with just the use of a solicitor? What would happen if I die? Would she be able to claim half the pension?
Thank you for your comment. You will have seen that we cannot give advice on this forum. It would be to your benefit to obtain advice on your specific circumstances as the length of your marriage, what happened to the finances at the time of the separation and what your current financial situations are will all affect what could happen both now and if you were to die. Depending upon the agreement reached you could deal with this through solicitors and not have a court order but that could leave you vulnerable in the future which is another reason why you should obtain advice. Please feel free to contact me directly if you would like to know how I can help.
Hello I separated from my wife in 2006 after 7 years marriage. We didn?t divorce until feb 2014.
During that time I got out the army for 2 years then rejoined.
Due to finish my 22 years next year.
We were married and divorced in Scotland. I think the laws are different here to the rest of the UK.
What is my ex entitled too?
Does make a difference that I left and got back in under a different contract and different pension scheme?.
Thank you for your comment. As you have set out, the law is different in Scotland to England. We can only provide advice and information in relation to English law. You will need to seek advice from a Scottish Family Law Specialist as to how the pension would be treated on divorce in Scotland. Sorry that I cannot help further.
After 9 years of marriage my son and his wife split and he left the marital home. He has been in the military for 20 years. Divorce is just starting now and she is claiming his mod pension. What percentage can she expect. He continues to pay for the 4 children (6-16) although she has prevented him seeing them for last 3 years .
Thank you for your comment. You will have seen that unfortunately we cannot give advice on this forum. There is not a simple calculation as to how much each are entitled to from the pension. There are a series of factors that are taken into consideration including the length of marriage, the division of any other assets and ongoing maintenance. Your son is welcome to contact me directly if he would like advice specific to his circumstances and I can explain how I can help.
Hi
My ex is currently fighting for half my medical pension which I receive monthly for injuries sustained during military operations. The money received is used for private treatment as I am no longer serving and or being employed full time due to my injuries. I am reliant upon the funds for my welfare and living expenses but have been told that she could be awarded half?
Thank you for your comment. “War Pensions” cannot be made subject to a pension sharing order as they are considered to be a form of compensation for the injuries you have sustained. However, it is important that you check with Veterans UK exactly what scheme you are on. Veterans UK will be able to confirm whether your specific pension can be made subject to a pension sharing order or not.
Hi I was give a settlement on divorce from my husband of 15 years who served in the army, the judge gave me a third of his pension and a lump Sum, I’m now 3 months away from my 55 birthday and I’m now able to claim it but what I would like to know is instead of claiming my pension monthly am I able to draw down my pension in small lump sums each year
Thank you for your comment. Your question really needs to be directed to Veterans UK and they will be able to confirm how you can draw the pension. I think it is unlikely you will only be able to draw periodic lump sums as the AFPS schemes do not have the same flexibility as some private schemes but you should check directly with Veterans UK.
My husband and I parted after 45 years of marriage. I worked without a contract at my husband?s request and because of the children, for all but the last ten years before I retired from the NHS. The house was sold and the minimal equality shared. After 6 months of separation my husband offered and agreed to allow me a thousand pounds a month from his war pension as I didn?t have enough to live on. He has now said that he doesn?t want me to have it and I have no right to it anyway.
Is this true… I do not wish to pursue this if he is right in what he says.
Thank you for your comment. Have you had any advice about the finances from a solicitor? If not, I would recommend that you do so. It is correct that War Pensions cannot be shared via a pension sharing order but there are other orders that could be made instead. You are welcome to contact me directly if you would like to know how I can help.
I have a pension share with my ex wife ..she is in full time employment and she says she can start drawing the money at 55 ..i was lead to believe this was put in a pension pot every month until her retirement age of 65
Thank you for your comment. Once the pension sharing has been implemented you each have your own pension. You can each draw upon your share of the pension when you reach retirement age. Pensions can be drawn from age 55 at the earliest but the income will be reduced as it will be paid over a longer period of time.
Hi, I was married for 10 years together for 16 and I?m in the process of court proceedings for my pension share. My ex is due to leave the raf, will I be due to a share of the lump sum when he receives his?
Thank you for your comment. The earliest you can draw on your share of the pension once a pension sharing order is made is age 55. You should obtain advice from a solicitor, financial adviser or actuary if you are uncertain as to the impact of the pension sharing order to ensure you receive advice specific to your situation.
Hi Hazel, does the reason of divorce decide whether someone can get a pension share or not?
Regards.
Thank you for your comment. No, the reason for the divorce does not impact upon whether you can have a pension sharing order. A series of factors are considered when considering the division of the assets.
Hi, I am in receipt of an AFPS75 Immediate Pension, which I have agreed with my ex-wife to pay 50%, in addition to other maintenance payments. I currently pay my ex-wife directly. I live in Australia, and the whole pension is assessed as overseas income, for Aus Tax purposes.
Can my ex-wife or I apply for a Pension Sharing Order? i.e. reducing my personal overseas income
If so, at what age would my ex-wife be eligible to claim?
Thank you for your comment. It is possible to apply for a pension sharing order following an overseas divorce but ideally, it will be recorded in your Australian divorce that you both agree to this happening. I offer a fixed fee to provide a comprehensive letter of advice on your options to do this and the things you need to consider. Please feel free to contact me directly to find out how I can help you and advise you on your situation.
Hi,
My wife & I are divorcing. She is insisting on going for my pension unless I walk away from the house we bought together. When we bought it she paid ?50k deposit which was provided by her father, I provided ?15k. She claims that she is entitled to half my lump sum & monthly payments & she & her father are entitled to the majority of the equity as the money he provided for the deposit is factored in.
Is she entitled to much of my pension if she (non-serving) earns similar to me, has never had to lose out on a job as I have always been married unaccompanied & married for 7 years? I have received a threatening letter from her father insisting I walk away with nothing (I have paid 50/50 mortgage payments & we secured the mortgage prior to marriage) or they will go after my pension that I?ve worked for, for 20 years. We have no children & both own cars outright.
Thank you for your comment. We cannot give advice on this forum but I would certainly recommend that you take advice on your situation as there are many factors taken into account when the assets are divided. Please feel free to contact me directly if you would like to know how I can help further.
My husband and I are divorcing after 25 years. He has an armed forces pension. We are using a mediator who advised it is not as simple as splitting everything down the middle due to the AF Pension. We hired enlisted a Pensions on Divorce expert 5 months ago and have been chasing the information consistently. We have now had an email saying the PODE has left the company with immediate effect and they can no longer offer us advice has he was the only person in the company who could. We were advised the report had been finalised at the end of october and was was his boss for checking. Where do we stand. Surely as the content of the report contains our personal and private financial information we would legally be entitled to access that information?
Thank you for your comment. I’m afraid that this is not a question we can answer. You would need to check the terms of business with the expert and that should help set out what information you are entitled to in this situation.
I married my wife in August 1975 whilst serving in the Royal Navy. I was discharged disabled in 1978. We divorced in July 1992, and she was given by me all of the assets we had at the time ie detached house, car etc. She now believes as she approaches retirement age that she is entitled to a share of my disabled war pension is this possible?
Thank you for your comment. Your divorce pre-dates pension sharing orders and so it would not be possible for your ex wife to seek a share of the pension by way of a pension sharing order. War Pensions cannot be shared under a pension sharing order either. You are welcome to contact me directly if you wish to check whether there are any other claims left open that your ex wife could make against you.
I was in the RAF for 12 years married for 9. I divorced in the late 90s. I was left with nothing. She got the kids, house etc. Can she still claim any of my pension
Thank you for your comment. If a court order was made about the finances at the time you divorced then this will set out whether your ex wife is able to make a claim against the pension. I would anticipate that if your divorce took place in the 1990s that this will pre-date pension sharing orders but you should obtain advice if you wish to be certain as we cannot give advice on this forum.