Police pensions - how to split?

[nessynessy]

Can anyone advise me please on police pensions?

My ex and I are both police officers but he retires in 4 years and I have alot more to work. I have been part-time for 5 years. I am trying to work out (without paying a solicitor, which I can't afford) what I am entitled to. i understand that we are both entitled to some/half or each other's pensions but I don't know where to start.

I would prefer to work it out myself then involve a solicitor at a later point.

Do I need an actuarial report and do I need it for both pensions? Or is there something else I should be doing?

The answer is yes to your first 2 questions. You are going to struggle though to ask the right questions without getting some representation. If you're younger than him you'd expect him to have a more valuable pension than you. Consider too the time when you'd be able to take the benefit of a transferred pension. Is it 50, 60, 65?

I am younger than him by 2 years but his pension is worth more than mine because he has more police service than me and his pension has been protected from the recent changes imposed by Theresa May, whereas mine hasn't.

Is the time when I can take a transferred pension when I retire? If so that won't be until I am 53 or even 60 if the government get their way.

Would I be able to get my share (if any) of his pension when he retires, which as I said is 4 years away?

Don't think you'll get too much sympathy at having to retire at 53 or even 60 from most of us.

She's.not asking for sympathy. She's asking for advice. Op, you need a solicitor.

Isn't it fairly straightforward as you'll both have final salary pensions. You both should know how many years service you'll have at 60 (bear in mind you accrue part years as youre part time) and what your projected final salary will be then ergo you know what your pensions will be. Or am I missing something?

You'll need the actuary's report. The "CETV" of the pension is calculated assuming that the person retired on the day it was calculated. It could therefore massively undervalue the true worth of the pension.

Although expensive, the actuary can do all of the calculations to work out their true value and calculate precisely what percentage would be needed to make a fair sharing order or offset it against other assets, such as savings or equity in the home.

I know you don't want to have to pay for an actuarial report, but to be honest you'd be silly not to.

Often police pensions, depending on the rank and length of service, are worth several hundred thousand pounds. If you don't do your homework you may be shortchanging yourself to the tune of, say, £30,000 all to save yourself £750 for an actuary's report.

Get advice from your Fed Rep. You should get free legal advice, and it's worth getting it right, my ex's CETV was in excess of 500K and they worked out a proportion which is out aside for when I'm 60.

We agreed to discount both our pensions before marriage & then worked out a proportion pro rata for the time we were married.

Be careful if his is still on the old scheme the jobs contribution doubles for the last 2 years so don't get rushed into a divorce too quickly.

put aside

One complication is your H may be able to take his pension at 50, but if some of that is transferred to you then you may not be able to take the income from that part until you're 60. A good pensions report can explain any of those kinds of issue, and how much more of a % you'll need to equalise the benefits. It can be very complicated. You'll then need a lawyer to argue your case for getting more because you have to wait until you're 60.

Thank-you all for your replies.
I think an actuary report is the best way forward. Am I correct in thinking then that unless I get the amount offset against the equity in the house or savings then I will have to wait until I receive my own pension before I receive any thing from his? Is there a means by which I can benefit when he retires, which as I said earlier is in 4 years time?

That is the kind of question you need to put to your pensions expert.