Pension expressed at percentage and "shortfall"

Hi, I have recently completed my divorce and a pension sharing agreement was included in the financial settlement. The pension sharing agreement was expressed as a % (which is the standard and only option I understand). When the agreement was being drawn up my pension was going up and up (I assume because of favourable financial markets). Each week seemed to add a fair amount to the CEV.

My ex and I agreed an amount (say 20K) which was then converted to a % of CEV of course. The actual amount (say 20K) was expressed in the settlement and this value was expressed as a % in the pension sharing annex. These duly signed and sealed by the court etc. In reality, the % was set just above the amount to account for some negative fluctuation in CEV and I expected it to actually equate to a somewhat higher amount when the order was actually processed by the pension provider which would be many months away but thought "C'est La Vie".

Now it turns out that the amount transferred (the agreed % ) was actually less than 20K (financial markets now down due to war etc etc) when the form was processed by the pension provider.

My ex is now asking how I'm going to make up the shortfall. It hadn't occurred to me I might be able to ask for the expected overpayment back but this is the nature of divorce of course. Can they demand this shortfall?

What is the legal situation here now? I assume I can't transfer any more pension without a further court order? Transferring more pension is the only option, cash isn't an option.

As far as I'm concerned the order was enacted as signed and this sort of thing must happen all the time. My only concern is that the amount was stated in the financial order and the % was specified in the pension sharing order. Does one take priority as these will never match in the real world taking into account the time these things take?

Thank you!

Hmm.

I think so long as you have done precisely what the order required, there is no comeback. Whilst the valuation of a pension %age for sharing may fluctuate, a lump sum is a fixed amount, fixed at the date of the order.

Hadenoughnow

Thank you. Yes there really isn’t an option to not do what the order says and infact the solicitor handles the pension sharing order so you can’t go off on your own and not transfer what was agreed in the order.
Pension sharing orders can only be expressed as a % is what I was told (and that is born out by the fact the form only allows you to specify a %). At the time of signing the % was generous and my ex was actually going to get more than she asked for by over £1000 I believe. But markets go up and down and war hit the world between signing and pension order being acted on by the court and provider. So that £1000+ overpayment actually turned into about the same amount as an ‘underpayment’ in ex’s eyes.
I guess my question is, even if a pound amount was specified in the wording of the settlement does the % of CEV that was translated into at signing stand? I’m wondering in a. That amount should never have been put in the wording meaning this is a solicitor miss or b. That pound amount is always meaningless as it is ultimately the % on the form that forms the financial
settlement.

My ex hasn’t sought legal advise and they are just trying to get me to transfer the difference from savings. The value (or cost) of savings are very different to the value of pensions of course due to taxation but that’s a whole different matter I guess.

A pension is a long term investment. If it is invested in the stock market it can go down as well as up. The whole value of the pot fluctuates which is why a percentage is used. An order is not going to be overturned because of market fluctuations. After all your share will also be worth less until the market recovers as it will sooner or later.

Hadenoughnow