A woman who was owed £98,000 from her ex-husband’s pension was left ‘frustrated’ after a major admin error. Emma, 51, submitted a pensions sharing order last March.
It is a type of court order which divides a pension after a couple has divorced. It states exactly how much the ex-partner should receive.
Usually, there is a timeframe of up to four months for a pension provider to carry out the order once they have received all the necessary information. But six months on, Emma had heard nothing from pension provider Virgin Money.
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The NHS admin worker, from Woking, Surrey, said the experience was ‘very frustrating’, Mirror reports. She said: “I have chased and been fobbed off at every turn, with promises of escalation and senior managers calling me back.
“No one has called me, the only communication between us has been me ringing them to chase.” Emma feared she would miss out on the money altogether.
Virgin Money later admitted it had ‘incorrectly allocated’ the pension sharing order. It was only after the issue was escalated to staff that they located the court document.
The final part of the pension was eventually transferred in November 2024. Virgin Money has since apologised and offered Emma £300 compensation.
Emma said: “I really think there is a big gap in pension company knowledge regarding these sharing orders and if something can be written to help others in my situation, or not to end up in my situation, it can only be a good thing.” A Virgin Money spokesperson said: “We would like to sincerely apologise to Emma for the unnecessary stress and inconvenience caused by the delay in completing her request.
“We recognise that both the level of support we provided and the delay that Emma experienced was not in keeping with the standards we typically aim to meet.”
New data from Interactive Investor found spouses could miss out on up to £665,000 by excluding pensions in divorce settlements. A pension sharing order is a court order which divides the pension, with a portion legally transferred to the ex-spouse.
Another way to split your pension after divorce is through a pension attachment order, which is where an ex-partner receives regular payments when the other begins drawing their pension. But, these payments will stop if the receiving spouse remarries or the pension-holder dies.
There is also pension offsetting, which is where the value of a pension is offset against the value of other assets, such as property or savings. For example, one spouse might get to keep their pension while the other takes a larger share of the house.
Finance expert Myron Jobson said: “Pension considerations in divorce are complex and need careful evaluation. Offsetting pensions against other assets may suit some couples, while splitting the pension or earmarking future payouts may work for others.
“These issues become even more intricate when either party has been married before. It is worth consulting a solicitor to understand the legal and financial implications of pension division.”