Pension question

[octobermist]

My husbands brother split up with his wife about 12 years ago. (She met someone else) if that's relevant. Their house got sold and they split the proceeds. She then bought another house with new man and has lived there ever since. My Bil since taking early retirement has a very good pension which she gets half from. There's now a very large amount left in his pension pot which she has been given access to. She draws about £1.400 a month from it but if she wants she can draw lump sums from whenever she wants. She's previously had a lump sum of 50 grand about 8 years ago.
My DH thinks that legally she shouldn't still be taking from his pension, especially as she is with someone else. I'm not so sure. Anyone know the law on this? Very grateful for any help on this.

Pensions can be split in lots of different ways when people divorce. Sounds like your ex-SIL got a pensions attachment order i.e. she got a certain % in income and/or in lump sums when her XH retires and starts accessing the pension.

Don't understand what you think is wrong with this? If say, the pension was worth £1m when they split up, but your BIL didn't have £500k of other assets to buy her out at the time, then she gets the £500k in pension payments when your BIL starts his pension.

Well I said all along that when the law changed it entitled the ex spouse to half the pension. BIL is quite happy that she gets it but lots of people are telling him she shouldn't still be getting it.

It's more usual to split the pension now, it gives a clean break and everyone has control of their own entitlement, but your BIL situation is not all that unusual.

Perhaps there's some confusion with spousal maintenance (i.e money that's sometimes paid to an XW, separate to any child maintenance)? That is often drafted in such a way that it stops if the XW marries or lives with someone else. So perhaps the people who are telling him she shouldn't still be getting it if she's remarried, are confusing it with that?

I bet it is that changename54.

Pension attachment orders usually end automatically if the ex - spouse remarries but just living with someone else doesn't matter.