War Disablement Pension + Service Invalidating Pen

Hi,

Would love to hear your thoughts, please ...

My partner is starting the divorce process.

He was discharged on medical grounds from the Navy in 1991 and was awarded both the WDP and the SIP ( we think it's this one and it does need confirming).

They were awarded to him in 1991 and so they were paying out to him BEFORE he married his now estranged wife.

My first question is - are pensions subject to sharing if they were paying out before marriage? Are assets before marriage countable?

My second question is - am I right in thinking that the War Disablement Pension is not open for pension sharing in any case? I think the other one (SIP) is?

Thanks very much,

Lisa

Hi Lisa

You are correct a SIP part of a Military Pension can be the subject of a pension sharing order but not the WDP element. A SAP element can also be awarded due to illness and ill health and this also can be the subject of a pension sharing order.

The question as to whether a pension sharing order would be made in your partner's case cannot be answered without further information - including - Age of the parties, length of the marriage, any relevant children income and resources of the parties, including assets, pensions and debts etc and any other relevant factors. As you say you would need to get clarification of the pensions and values.

Deborah

Thanks Deborah,

My partner is 55 and estranged wife is 55. They both work.
They have 3 children, all over 18, who do not contribute to income
Married for 21 years prior to separating
They have a property, which she would be entitled to some of.
My partner has debt of about £5.5k
He currently pays £600 a month mortgage and £300 for his daughter who is in full time education.
So,, just for my own understanding, even though his pensions were paid to him before he married (and as such his estranged wife has had benefit of them over the course of the marriage, it's not like their monthly income was down each month as monies were going into a pension) they can still be considered in the divorce more on a case by case basis?

Thanks so much

Lisa