Divorce

If requested, your pension administrator will provide a statement of the cash equivalent transfer value of your benefits. 

Depending on the terms of your divorce, the court may agree that a pension sharing order is set up. This provides a clean break where a portion of your pension is separated and a new pension account in the police pension scheme is created for your ex-spouse. They will then be known as a pension credit member.

If a pension sharing order is applied to your pension, there will be a permanent pension debit made against your pension.

The value of this will be taken into account for any future annual benefit statements or other pension calculations you receive.

When you retire, there will be a final adjustment made to take account of your age at retirement and the original debit applied. 

In some cases the court will determine that an earmarking order is set up. This would mean that when your benefits come into payment, your ex-spouse would receive one, or a combination of, the following: 

• All or part of your pension
• All or part of your commuted lump sum
• All or part of any death grant paid if you die in service

The payments would stop:

• If your ex was to remarry or enter a new civil partnership
• When you die

This is the term used for members who are allocated a pension sharing order as part of a divorce. They can receive the pension benefits when they reach state pension age. 

A pension credit member will have the option to commute some of their pension to a lump sum. The only exception is where the member had already retired before the date the pension sharing order took effect and had taken a lump sum.

If you become divorced or your civil partnership ends, your ex-spouse or ex-civil partner would no longer be eligible for benefits if you die. 

Any children would still be entitled to a child’s pension.