What it means for your pension
We know it isn’t easy when you’re going through a divorce or having a civil partnership dissolved. So we try to keep your pension arrangements as simple and straightforward as possible.
Three simple steps
Before agreeing any settlements, the court may ask you and your partner to provide full details of your pension benefits and their estimated values. Here’s how the process works:
The three steps
You request a quote
First of all you’ll need to complete a Request for pension estimate Divorce form for your Local Government, Police or Firefighters’ scheme (make sure you select the right one).
You can download this from the Divorce section of the Forms, documents & scheme information page. Then send the completed form to us via our Member contact form.
You will also need to confirm details of your solicitor, where you want the quote sending and whether you want it processed urgently (an additional fee may be charged).
If you are already in receipt of your pension, you will be automatically charged for the quote and it will be issued as though you had requested it urgently.
We provide your quote
A quote, outlining your pension benefits and value, will be sent to you within 3 months.
If you have paid for this to be processed urgently, we will arrange this as soon as possible – typically within 4 weeks.
If you are already in receipt of your pension, you will be automatically charged for the quote and it will be issued as though you had requested it urgently.
You confirm any court settlement agreements
Your divorce settlement may include a ‘pension sharing order’, which awards a percentage of the value of your pension to your ex-spouse. If this is the case, you will need to send us the details as soon as possible, so that we can make the necessary arrangements.
If the settlement does not affect your pension, there’s nothing further you need to do.
Pension Sharing Orders
What happens next
If a Pension Sharing Order has been awarded as part of your divorce settlement, you’re probably wondering what to do next. Here’s how it works:
How it works
Send us your documents
You need to send us a copy of the Pension Sharing Order and your Final Order (Decree Absolute) – either by post or email with details of both that can be found here: Contact us.
We’ll let you know costs
We’ll write back and let you know the cost to you of implementing the changes and whether we need any further information. We’ll send you an invoice a few days later.
Once payment is received, we’ll confirm and process
Once we receive payment, we’ll confirm in writing that we’re ready to implement the order. We’ll process the changes within four months of this date.
We’ll let your ex-partner know their options
We’ll get in touch with your ex-partner and let them know their options. For example, they may be able to choose to transfer their benefits to another pension scheme.
We’ll confirm the impact of this to you
Once they have made their decision (we would usually give them a few weeks), we’ll implement the order and let you know what impact it has had on your benefits.
Any questions?
We understand it can be a difficult time. If you have any questions at all, feel free to call our helpline and one of our advisers will be happy to help.
Call your pensions Helpdesk on 0300 323 0260.