During divorce proceedings you will usually need to disclose all your financial interests to the court.
In doing so, you or your solicitor will need to request a Cash Equivalent Value (CEV) of your pension rights, from the Gwynedd Pension Fund.
The courts will then decide if a Earmarking Order or a Pension Sharing Order is to be placed on your Local Government Pension.
Please note that neither of these types of orders will have any bearing on any children’s pensions that may be payable upon your death.
Earmarking Order
An Earmarking Order entitles your former spouse to a proportion of your benefits when you retire. This proportion could be:
- Part of your pension
- Part of your retirement lump sum
- Part of any lump sum payable upon your death
- If you joined the scheme prior to 17/03/1987, the Earmarking Order could involve exchanging some pension for an additional lump sum retirement grant.
If your former spouse re-marries, an Earmarking Order against your pension will automatically lapse.
The pension payments to your former spouse will cease following your death.
Pension Sharing Order
If divorce proceedings commenced on or after 1st December 2000, the court might issue a Pension Sharing Order. Your former spouse will be allocated a percentage of your benefits and consequently will hold pension benefits in their own right, independently of your benefits.
Your pension, lump sum retirement grant and any spouse’s pension payable should you re-marry, will be debited by this allocated percentage and awarded to your former spouse as a Pension Credit.
As a Pension Credit member of the LGPS, your former spouse will receive their pension benefits upon reaching age 55 with reduction, or unreduced at either Stae Pension Age (if you left employment afer 01/04/2014) or Age 65 (if you left employment before 01/04/2014) and the pension will be payable for life. The pension benefits could be released earlier if they suffer serious ill health. They will also have the option to transfer this Pension Credit to another, non LGPS pension arrangement if they wish.
Please contact us in writing if you require a Cash Equivalent Value of your Local Government pension rights for divorce proceedings.