Sorry if ive posted in the wrong place,

I have recently got divorced and having an NHS pension have had to surrender 24% to my ex.

I have just had a letter from her solicitors demanding £3117 as admin and implementation fee which after checking on the nhs pensions website is valid, my issue is, as an ambulance man I don't tend to carry that sort of money round ( I wish I did) I have bad credit because of the marriage and after paying £425 pcm maintenance I don't have a lot left to live on, any ideas for a solution to this matter anyone, it would be appreciated.

Hello and welcome to CAG.

I've flagged your thread for the site team to see if anyone can help. We may move you to a different forum if needed.

My best, HB

Hi

Have a look at this NHS link: http://www.nhsbsa.nhs.uk/Pensions/4194.aspx (you need to download the POD Factsheet)

From the Factsheet:

How will I pay the charges?

 

Members requesting a cash equivalent transfer value for divorce purposes need form PD1 which is available to download from our website. If you are in receipt of a Court Order form PD3 is available to download from our website. This must be completed and sent to NHS Pensions together with the Court Order and cheque for the full amount. All cheques should be made payable to ‘NHS Business Services Authority’.

 

What should I do if I cannot pay the charges?

 

You should write to the Pensions on Divorce Team (Transfers Section), 200-220 Broadway, Fleetwood, Lancashire FY7 8LG to explain your circumstances. NHS Pensions will not implement a Pension Sharing Order without full upfront payment.

Could you clarify if this is part of a Divorce settlement and on a Court Order?

I hope you found stu's information useful, that was a good find.

I've moved this to the pensions forum for any further advice people might be able to offer.

HB

First it is not up to your ex solicitor to demand any admin fees from you, nor should you pay them any fees.

It is between you and your pension scheme administrators. Before the implementation period of pension share can start (for public services schemes) as you correctly said fees must be paid by the person who is a member of the scheme. You have 2 options here. 1. Ignore the demand for the fee, in which case the order cannot be implemented but will still be valid, this will mean that your ex will be forced to apply to the court for another order for you to pay, it will also mean that you may lose more of your pension as time passes based on the cash equivalent value increasing (this is the amount used to base the percentage share on).

There is ni legal obligation under the pension sharing legislation for you to pay the fee, it would have to be ordered via the court in new family law proceedings. 2. Contact your pension administrators and inform them of your situation and the payment of the fees would cause you severe financial hardship ie you just have not got the money. The administrators of public service pension schemes are legally obliged to provide assistance and can waver fees under the new secondary legislation.

Please remember that this is between you and the scheme administrators not your ex solicitors. Their duty is to provide the administrators with all the required legal documents ie decree absolute, financial order and consent order which should include the pension sharing annex (the specific order to share your NHS pension).

I have dealt with pension sharing since it's implementation in Dec 2000 albeit from the State Pension side but have gathered an extensive knowledge of all aspects along the way.

Good luck and I hope you get it sorted to your satisfaction