Public sector pensions – how they are handled on divorce

Fareen Mohmood Family law Associate Penningtons Manches Cooper

The increasing strain being placed on the public sector in this country arising from economic pressures is widely publicised. In this article Hannah McCrindle and Fareen Mohmood both family law Associates at Penningtons Manches Cooper consider this issue in the context of divorce proceedings focussing in particular on the impact of this on public sector pensions and what practitioners dealing with divorcing public sector workers need to be aware of.

The key differences between public sector and private sector pensions are also explored along with the 2015 reforms following the widely publicised ‘McCloud’ judgement. Some practical guidance is provided to practitioners in respect of how to deal with technical issues that can arise when implementing a pension sharing order and advice is provided on how to properly liaise with a PODE (Pensions on Divorce Expert) when dealing with issues such as multiple retirement ages. 

The article ends with an overview of the key public sector schemes and provides guidance on the preparation of pension sharing annexes for...