If you are going to be the beneficiary of a pension share on divorce you will need to do the following five things in order to obtain your share of your ex-spouse’s pension scheme.
1) You will need to make the original documents available to the ceding scheme those documents being your Decree Absolute and the Pension Sharing Annex (Order);
2) You will need to pay to the scheme administrators of the ceding scheme your share of any pension sharing fees that are due (usually you and your ex-spouse will be responsible for paying held of the fees each);
3) If you are joining the scheme and benefiting from an internal share (sometimes called “shadow membership”) you may have to provide your birth certificate and any other information requested by the scheme administrators;
4) If you are having an external transfer to a private pension arrangement you will need to complete an application form from your chosen provider and the provider will need to provide the ceding scheme with details requested by them. There may also be a discharge form to be signed by you and your chosen plan provider;
5) You will need to be very patient! Occupational pension schemes are not the quickest on the block in terms of administration and in any event they have up to 4 months from the date when they have received all the documentation and fees in order to complete the transfer.
Don’t wait though.
The Pension Sharing Order gives you a right to this money. It belongs to you and should be transferred to your ownership as soon as possible.
