Divorce
You and your partner will need to consider how to treat your pension rights as part of any divorce/dissolution settlement.
You may be asked to provide your solicitor or representative with an estimate of the cash equivalent value (CEV) of your pension rights. This is sometimes described as a ‘fund value’ or a ‘transfer value’. They all represent the value of your Leicestershire County Council Pension Fund.
The court will take this value into account in your settlement.
You can request these details by downloading the leaflet and form. Return the completed form to the Pension Section.
If you have any Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs), a current fund value will also be quoted for you. You do not need to contact Prudential for this.
However if you have other pension rights, you’ll need to approach each scheme separately to request a value of each fund.
Scale of charges
There are some circumstances where there is a charge for this information. Please read the Scale of Charges table below carefully:
| Procedure | Comments | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Produce Cash Equivalent Value Calculation (CEV) | Standard annual entitlement under disclosure of information regulations | £0 |
| Additional CEV or under circumstances set out in my correspondence | £150 plus VAT | |
| Provision of other information | £0 (if under disclosure of information regulations) from £150 to £475 plus VAT (depending on the nature of the request) | |
| Receipt of pension sharing order or consent order and to establish a new or prospective pensioner record | To cover all administration costs from receipt of pension sharing order to completion of pension payments | £475 plus VAT |
| Assuming all documentation is in place, settle a transfer out | £250 plus VAT | |
| Administrative cost of collecting and interpreting medical evidence, should that be needed for any pension payment issue | The charges for supply of medical evidence will be met by the member whose benefit is under review | Payment for supply of medical evidence will be the responsibility of the member |
| Objections to order by scheme | Onus should be on the draftsman of the order to ensure that it is correctly drafted prior to issue | Costs for dealing with inoperable orders will be passed on |
Further Information
The Pensions Section is required to send you information in accordance with the Pensions on Divorce, etc (Provision of Information) Regulations 2000. This must be sent to you within 3 months of the date your PSO2 form (enclosed) was received by us.
In certain circumstances, a shorter time scale applies. The information must be supplied within:
- 6 weeks of the date I receive notification that formal divorce or annulment proceedings have commenced (see the footnote). Please let me know immediately if proceedings have commenced (if you have not already done so), or
- the deadline specified in a Court Order sent to me (where such an Order has been made), or
- 21 "days" of the date I receive a notification that a Pension Sharing Order may be made (or any longer period specified by the Court)
The information that will be sent to you within the specified time scale will include:
- the cash equivalent value (CEV) of your accrued pension rights in the Local Government Pension Scheme administered by this Authority
- the information necessary to complete the pension section of the Form E financial statement, and
- all other information that is required to be provided under the Pensions on Divorce etc. (Provision of Information) Regulations 2000
Please note that a charge, as set out above, will be payable by you for the provision of the CEV if:
- the CEV is required by you within a specified time scale of less than 3 months, or
- the CEV is for a member with less than 3 months membership in the LGPS and who has not transferred other pension rights into the LGPS, or
- a CEV or the provision of information has already been requested and provided in the previous 12 months, or
- the CEV is required in the case of Scottish divorce or nullity proceedings where the relevant date to be used for the CEV is greater than 12 months prior to the date of receipt of the CEV request
The effect on your pension benefits
The court may use the CEV to offset the value of your pension against other assets in the divorce or dissolution settlement. Alternatively it may issue a Pension Sharing Order or an Earmarking Order against your pension or lump sum. A Pension Sharing Order is the court’s instruction to us to give a percentage of the member’s CEV to the former partner as a stand-alone pension entitlement. This will also reduce the member’s benefits up to the date of the order by the same percentage. An Earmarking Order will instruct us to make a cash payment from your pension or lump sum to your former partner.
If any charges apply a list will be supplied at the start of the process.
Under the LGPS, if you get divorced or a civil partnership is dissolved, you may wish to note that:
- your ex-spouse or ex civil partner will cease to be entitled to a widow’s, widower’s or civil partner’s pension should you die before they do
- any children’s pension payable in the event of your death will not be affected by your divorce or dissolution
It’s recommended that you complete a new Death Grant Expression of Wish form upon your change in circumstances, so that the Pension Section is clear about your intentions. Please note however that the Court may, however, issue an Earmarking Order stating that all or part of any lump sum death grant is payable to your ex-spouse or civil partner, which must be respected.
Should your assets be offset without the need for the Courts involvement please inform the Pension Section of any change in your marital status by emailing pensions@leics.gov.uk and scanning or posting any relevant documents to us.
