Who can benefit
Where a couple are divorcing and the assets include a Defined Benefit (final salary) scheme the CETV could be under quoting the fair value of the pension on divorce by up to 30%, or even more in some cases such as the uniformed services pension schemes. Although a fair valuation would therefore normally be of greater benefit to the spouse of the pensionholder, it can also be obtained by the pensionholder to understand the true financial position of the pension.

To determine an accurate value of these pensions by using an expensive bespoke service could cost up to £1,500, take several weeks and there is no guarantee the result would justify the cost.


Collaborative proceedings
If the parties are engaged in the collaborative process this Actuarial Report may be used as an alternative to the conventional cash equivalent transfer value (CETV). In these circumstances agreement may be reached to divide the pension assets based on the online Actuarial Report alone.


Valuation examples
There are four main types of defined benefit schemes that can be valued, Old Public and New Public sector schemes, Good Private and Average Private sector schemes. If the pension is a money purchase scheme such as a stakeholder personal pension, the quotation from the provider will show the actual value of the pension after charges. The results shown are actual valuations the Actuarial Report has produced based on fifteen simple pieces of data. See examples of the pension valuations.