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What is a Pension Sharing Order?

Pension sharing orders are used to redistribute a couple’s pension provisions following a divorce or dissolution of a civil partnership. When a pension sharing order is made, the paying party’s pension provider is instructed to transfer a specified percentage of that pension into a pension in the name of the receiving party. The pension is effectively lifted out of the paying party’s pension and paid into a pension belonging to the receiving party so that it becomes their pension to do with as they please. Once implemented, the paying party cannot dictate to the receiving party what they should do with the pension. It is worth remembering however that when a pension is transferred under a pension sharing order, it must be paid into another pension and it cannot be released as cash. A pension sharing order is also not available to couples who have chosen to have a judicial separation rather than a divorce/dissolution.

Related FAQs

What was the eligibility criteria for the Government’s self-employment income support scheme?

You will be eligible if you are a self-employed individual or a member of a partnership and you:

  • have trading profits of up to £50,000
  • earn the majority of your income from self-employment
  • have submitted a Tax Return for 2019
  • have traded in the tax year 2019/20
  • are trading when you apply for a grant, or would be except for Covid-19
  • intend to continue to trade in the tax year 2020/2021
  • have lost trading/partnership profits due to Covid-19

 

If a member of staff does not inform me that they ought to be self-isolating will I still be liable for a fine?

Potentially no.

If an employer is not put on notice that the circumstances of a worker or agency worker are such that they ought to be self-isolating, by either the worker or agency worker themselves or another member of staff, then there ought to be a reasonable excuse, and potentially, no fixed penalty notice will be issued.

What is IR35?

IR35 is an anti-tax avoidance regime which is intended to tackle (in HMRC’s view) the long standing issue of individual contractors providing their services or labour via an intermediary – which is usually a personal service company (referred to as a PSC). We’ll talk about PSCs here, but there are other types of intermediaries that are caught.

HMRC’s view is that this arrangement is often considered to be disguised employment and therefore a tax-avoidance arrangement.

So IR35 is essentially a test of employment status – and if, once you apply the test, the contractor should be an employee, they should then be taxed as an employee.

Do you have to collectively consult for the minimum period of time before you can issue notice?

These periods are often mistakenly referred to as minimum lengths of consultation (especially by Trade Unions). That is not correct. Consultation can commence, conclude and notices of dismissal be issued within the 30 and 45 day periods. The expiry of the notice would just have to be outside of those restricted periods.

How long does it take to make a claim?

Each case is different depending on the injury and the time it takes to recover from the injury. There is a 3 year limitation period for most claims and a claim must be brought within 3 years.

Often a serious claim will take longer than 3 years and court proceedings will be issued to protect the claim.