Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, how many armed forces veterans are currently awaiting an outcome to their Cash Equivalent Transfer Value enquiry for their pension benefits.

1,585 Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) members are currently awaiting an outcome to their Cash Equivalent Value (CEV) enquiry in relation to divorce proceedings. In addition, there are 186 members awaiting a Cash Equivalent Transfer Value (CETV) for pension transfer purposes.

A CEV is the cash value assigned to a member's pension benefits and is used by the court to determine a Pension Sharing Order (PSO).

The delay in processing CEVs affected by the 2015 Pension Remedy is due to the initial divorce guidance being insufficient and further guidance was required from the Government Actuary's Department (GAD). Time was also required for the Ministry of Defence's (MOD) pension administrator to implement new calculation processes arising from the updated guidance. These are now being processed in the order received, with priority given to clearing outstanding cases before new requests.

In addition, the introduction of revised actuarial factors, along with the additional time needed to update administration systems and calculations following receipt of these factors, has affected the delivery of CEVs for members.

The 2015 Pension Remedy, also known as the McCloud Judgement, is a complex piece of legislation that requires detailed guidance to implement, including aspects related to divorce. This challenge is not unique to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS) or the MOD.

Updates are published at: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/pensions-and-compensation-for-veterans#divorce