For our penultimate Q&A in this series we cover the tricky subject of divorce…
Question:
I am divorcing and will be sharing my pension. My solicitor has suggest getting an actuaries report but this is expensive. Do I really need one if I have requested a Cash Equivalent Value (CEV) from Veterans UK?
Answer:
An actuary is used to calculate the amount, or percentage, of pension that should be given up. The CEV is simply an estimated cash value of the overall pension. Armed Forces pensions are more complex than most and once a pension sharing order (PSO) has been applied it can impact the pension more significantly than you might think. An actuary is an expert who can calculate a fair share based on what you wish to achieve and considering pension benefits from both parties.
An actuary can be used to calculate a share based on different situations such as:
- Achieving an equal split of assets.
- Achieving equality of income in retirement.
- Offsetting (against other assets so you can keep more of your pension)
- Proportion of time married against accrued benefit (i.e. only sharing a proportion of the pension accrued between two dates relating to the marriage)
Depending on the direction given to the actuary a different percentage share may result. However, using an actuary may prevent you from making a mistake which may be costly in the long term
Next week, we have something on medical discharge for you, meanwhile you can read more in this series here.
