Army pension

Yes, these are all good questions which lots of us would like to know the answers to! Marsa if you do manage to find anything out that would be great!

I suspect that between us, Peter (if he doesn't mind!) and I can answer a fair few questions. I have experience of Forces pensions in divorce.

Although it is confusing, and clearly there are several confused people out there, the rules on Forces pensions are clear enough.

Let me try making a few basic points, if those help as a start, I'll try to field any additional points if we can line them up in a manageable order! And maybe create some sort of useful reference item out of it.

To avoid twisting myself in linguistic knots, I will write as if Forces members are all male: the rules apply equally well however to a husband married to a woman serving in the Forces.

So, my first few basic points about Forces pensions: (also relevant to a few other "Government" employees such as Police)

1. ALL Pensions are subject to very specific rules, but Forces pensions have special treatment on top of the normal pensions rules.

2. Forces members have exemption from normal pension rules to allow them to take their pensions earlier than most, on retirement from service (which is earlier than normal pension age).

3. You can't pension share just by agreeing it: you need a pension sharing order as part of a divorce (although you can have an agreed, consent, pension sharing order). The law doesn't allow pension sharing except as part of a divorce, for tax reasons. (This applies to all pensions, not just Forces)

4. Because a wife taking a pension sharing order is not a member of the Forces to whom those special rules apply, they cannot take the pension early just because their hsuband can. They had to wait until their normal pension age, currently 65. This isn't discriminating against Forces wives, its just that everyone is subject to the normal pensions rule and Forces members have an exemption.

5. The new provisions referred to by Maggie, above, may allow some scope for departure from the old rules by enabling someone to draw from their pension share earlier than 65 BUT BE CAREFUL: anyone taking the pension early will get much, much less per year than they would get if they took the pension at 65. If you split a Forces pension in half, the wife's half will generate a much lower pension than the husband's, because the rules apply differently. To work out how to split the pension to give the wife equal income at 55 would require an actuary, like Peter. But the division would have to be so much in favour of the wife proportionately that I doubt it will happen except in very extreme cases.

6. Don't confuse Terminal Gratuity, the payment of approximately 3x salary that Forces members get at the end of service, with Pension or commutation of pension.
The Terminal Gratuity is basically a resettlement grant, money to help the soldier (or sailor or airman)get back into civil life. This is NOT pension. It is NOT part of a pension sharing order.
A serviceman can opt to take all their pension as pension, or COMMUTE part to get a lump sum but with a lower income.

Does this help at all?

I'm reposting on this thread because it was becoming interesting (to me!) then stopped - so this is to see if it is interesting to anyone else, and worth building on, or not.

Active8.

Apologies for not getting back to you. Have had a bit of a week of it. Court Monday and now form E to fill in.

I have heard from SSAFA:

"Thank you for your email. It may be worth looking at the Forces Pensions Society website, they are a membership organisation and can be found at www.forpen.org/"

[i]Divorce
In the past four years there have been over 10,000 divorces involving serving and ex-serving military personnel. Most are unaware of the rules and procedures to be followed for the award of a pension sharing order and the ramifications once it has been administered. The FPS deals with either partner (sometimes both!) in their quest for knowledge to understand their rights in a sensitive and understanding manner.[/i]

I had a brief look at the site and there is a section for both sides in respect of divorce (as above). The membership is £26 per year.

Once Ive got this blooming Form out of the way I will get back on the case.

I really think we need a central point of contact to help wives and ex wives. I know that I am speaking from my own experience but Im sure I wont be the only one to say the nature of my exs job meant that as soon as he had made the decision to leave the bullying began. He was on a one man mission to get things sorted in the way he wanted. Luckily I had a really good friend who stopped me making some bad decisions when I was unable to think for myself. However there are plenty of women out there who do not have that sort of support and who are forced into making decisions that will affect theirs and their childrens future without realising they may be losing out.

"In the past four years there have been over 10,000 divorces involving serving and ex-serving military personnel"

That isnt an insignificant amount!

Marsa
xx

You get half his/her pension either by a pot held until your pension age. You have to prove that that you have not been able to work due to service life throughout your marriage.
The final gratuity is also split but this depends on how long the marriage was to the length of time they served in the mob.
Your half is taken out of his/her final pension pot and hidden away until you can claim it, however, new laws are about to come into force to stop this and it will be paid direct to you. So they will not see it.
That is what I was told in Feb 2009

Thanks dayglow - interesting to see what people are told.
"You have to prove that that you have not been able to work due to service life throughout your marriage."
I shared a final salary pension - it was never an issue.

"new laws are about to come into force to stop this and it will be paid direct to you. So they will not see it."

This has been true of pension sharing since Dec 2000 [WRPA 1999]

"That is what I was told in Feb 2009" Who told you?

dayglow

I agree with Maggie

You will be entitled to half of his pension (eg if you have been married for 12 years and he has been in the army for 22, you will be entitled to half of 12/22th) that is a starting point and of course other things will factor for example whether you have a pension of your own.

You do not have to prove that you have not been able to work throughout your marriage. Whether you worked or not, it makes not difference.

Your half is taken out of his/her final pension pot and hidden away until you can claim it, however, new laws are about to come into force to stop this and it will be paid direct to you. So they will not see it.

dayglow - please see the link I posted earlier. This is to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme on divorce leaflet. There are two options as to how you receive the pension and it is explained in the leaflet.

I too would like to know who gave you this info.

This is my point entirely, there needs to be more infomation and help to ex/stbx wives/husbands of the military to steer them through the puzzle that is forces pensions!!

Marsa:S