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14.
DIVORCE OR DISSOLUTION OF A CIVIL PARTNERSHIP
If you are getting divorced or are dissolving a Civil Partnership, your pension benefits in the
Scheme may be taken into account in any financial settlement between you and your spouse
or Civil Partner.
There are three basic ways in which pension rights can be dealt with:
Offsetting, where the value of the member’s pension rights are taken into account when
working out the couple’s assets, but the pension itself is not divided. The member
remains entitled to the pension in full, but its value is set off against other assets (such as
the couple’s house) in such a way as achieves a neutral result.
Pension earmarking, where a proportion of a member’s pension, or a proportion of a
member’s death benefits are assigned to his or her spouse or Civil Partner. When the
member retires (or dies) the assigned portion is paid to the spouse or Civil Partner.
Pension sharing, where the member’s pension is valued and then divided between the
member and his or her spouse or Civil Partner. This means the spouse or Civil Partner
acquires immediate and separate pension rights in the Scheme.
If the Trustees permit it, the spouse or Civil Partner can become a member of the Scheme in
his or her own right. At present the Trustees don’t offer membership to ex-spouses or Civil
Partners, but they will transfer the value of their pension sharing rights to another pension
scheme.
The law in this area is complicated. If you are getting divorced or are dissolving a Civil
Partnership, it is essential for your own interests that you contact the Trustees to obtain more
information regarding your Scheme benefits.