firemans pension

hi all, i am new to all this so hope this is right!
in middle of divorce after 25yrs marriage just been to my sol who now tells me that the pension sharing order he has advised me to go for 50/50 split would not be payable to me until i am 60 which is in 12yrs. my x who is full time fireman can get his full pension in 4 yrs time when he has done 30yrs in service, any advice please? thanks

yes thats right you are entitled to a share of his pension but you will only get it upon retirement. the court or by agreement will give you a percentage, not neccessarily 50/50 due to the age difference, your x will receive more than you as you still have 8 years of earning capacity and pension contributions you can make.
kind regards
dawn

hi dawn thanks for reply
dont think i gave enough info, my ex has to retire when he is 52 as he has done his 30yr service and can claim all his pension at that point, i have to wait till i am 60 which is is 12yrs time before i can claim my share of his pension, i thought i would be able to claim when he got his share,
also my sol has said 50/50 as i have been un-able to work for last 2yrs and am now on long term disability and rely only on benefits following a major illness with no return to work prospects

Think you will find he does not have to retire until at least 55, and can continue untill he is deemed medically unfit.

Froofroo,

Have you asked about spousal maintenance? Could you get that - even if you had to forego some of the pension in exchange for help now?

Hadenoughnow

thanks for reply
no that hasn't been mentioned, i didn't know that was an option, it does seem a little unfair that he now lives with a new partner and they are both earning decent wages and in 4yrs time they can get the pension when i struggle and by the look of it will have to do for another 12yrs

You could also look at attachment, which is the old way of pension sharing. In this you get a share of whatever he is paid by the scheme. Some disadvantages, such as if he dies or you remarry, then pension stops. You solve the first through taking life insurance on him in the settlement. Advantage is you get money at same time he does.

Another issue is that if CETV is split 50/50 in share then, because of the way the scheme implements it, you will get a lower value of benefits than he will. If you share so that you get the same income at 60 then its even worse as he's been receiving income for ages and you haven't.

Either way get an actuarial report (ideally as a joint instruction) to calcuate the correct share to give you 50% of the value of the pension.