Can STBXH pay more into his pension in order to pay less child maintenance?

[BettyFrillyKnickers]

Just that really. He has a couple of tiny pensions so I know he needs to contribute properly to catch up, as do I. I cannot afford to. However I think he has suddenly decided to pay more so he pays less maintenance. Better into his retirement pot than into our DC .

What happens to our pensions when we divorce?

Yes he can. CM payments are calculated on your salary net of pension contributions only (not tax and NI). So if he earns £70k and puts £20k in his pension then your CM is based on him earning £50k.

I decided to leave my Ex's pension out of our negotiations so I don't know a great deal about it. I think you can agree to split the pension straight away and invest it in your own funds or agree to split it at retirement (in this case you'd benefit from all the dosh he's throwing in???) 😁

All pensions will be considered as part of the total marriage assets pot and forms part of any monies to split. Can be traded for equity/other assets etc. You'd need cetv values . If they're small they may only form a small part of the pot

He can do this. But if you believe he is doing it expressly to reduce his maintenance liability, you can ask CMS to apply a variation. There are numerous MRA websites teaching these arseholes how to avoid paying the legal minimum CM.

But yes, the pensions will be a marital asset if you haven't divorced yet.