This Aries course is designed for the pensions professional who needs a practical understanding of the arrangements for pensions on divorce. No matter whether you work in the backroom or have daily contact with clients; whether you work with occupational schemes, personal or stakeholder pensions or insured contracts; whether you are a newcomer to pensions on divorce, or have some knowledge of the subject - this course is relevant for you. It structures the material in easy-to-digest chunks; it explains the fundamental concepts in clear English; and does not hesitate to tackle difficult technical points where these arise.
The Course has six units, each of which should take around 90 minutes to complete. The units are:
- Introduction to Pensions on Divorce in the UK
- How Pension Sharing Works
- Information, Time Limits & Charging
- Issues for Trustees - External vs Internal Transfers, etc
- Treatment of Benefits from Pension Shares
- State Pensions on Divorce & Other Topics
The six units have a number of Parts, which further sub-divide
into a number of headings. Each Unit and Part can be accessed
through pull-down menus on the main
screen (link will launch image in a new window)
- note the yellow bar and red ticks to indicate progress.
Once in your selected training Part, you can work through
the headings systematically, or go directly to those of interest.
These abilities, and the modular nature of Aries PND, allow
you to select just the material of interest, or return to
reinforce gaps in knowledge once the course has been completed.
Aries PND also contains plenty of self-test questions which
help to reinforce learning. These occur at intervals within
the text units to test ongoing understanding; you can easily
return to material if required. Each of the 6 Units concludes
with a 10 question test, the scores for which are recorded
by the system.
These questions come in a variety of flavours to help maintain
your interest: free
text, which allow the answer to be typed in (predictable
spelling errors are ignored!); simple yes/no;
and multiple
choice.
Aries PND actually records your progress through graphical
representations on the main screen, allowing you to resume
where they left off. There is also a progress
record which displays the headings still to be completed
and up to 8 previous test scores in each Unit. These records
can also be accessed by a central "trainer" ID,
to keep track of a number of trainees at once.
SUMMARY OF TRAINING UNITS
Unit 1 - Introduction to Pensions on Divorce in the UK
The first unit sets the context, with a brief description of how the law on divorce works in the UK, and the court procedures which have to be followed. It also includes a section on the arrangements for earmarking pensions, and on the developments which led to pension sharing.
Contents
- The Rules for Divorce in the UK
- Reform under the Family Law Act 1996
- Financial Arrangements in a Divorce
- Earmarking of Pensions
- Variation Orders & the Brooks Case
Unit 2 - How Pension Sharing Works
Unit 2 goes to the heart of the matter, and shows how pension sharing actually works. It describes which benefits can be shared, the nature of pension sharing orders and the mechanism of pension debits and credits. It also has a section on the CETV method of valuation which is used in pension sharing.
Contents
- Pension Sharing & Pension Sharing Orders
- Pension Debits & Pension Credits
- Valuation of Benefits
- Further Characteristics of Pension Sharing
Unit 3 - Information, Time Limits & Charging
Unit 3 is a very practical one, describing the main procedures which have to be followed under the law. It traces through the steps in a case, from the enquiry stage through the pre-order notification to the implemention itself. It clearly shows the information required, the time limits involved, and the rules which apply to charges for pension sharing.
Contents
- Provision of Information - The Enquiry Stage
- The Implementation Stage
- Charging
Unit 4 - Issues for Trustees - External vs Internal Transfers, etc
Unit 4 takes a higher level view, looking at the decisions and responsibilities for the trustees or managers of a pension scheme. It goes into detail on internal and external transfers for pension credits, and examines the question of the rule amendments required for pension sharing.
Contents
- Introduction
- External vs Internal Transfers
- Practicalities for Trustees & Managers
Unit 5 - Treatment of Benefits from Pension Shares
Unit 5 examines the nature of benefits arising from a pension credit - in what ways they differ from (and are similar to) benefits earned in the ordinary way. It brings in safeguarded rights, and shows clearly - with examples - how the Revenue Limits are modified for a member whose benefits have been shared.
Contents
- Pension Credit Benefits
- Safeguarded Rights
- Transfer of Pension Credit Benefit
- Inland Revenue Rules
Unit 6 - State Pensions on Divorce & Other Topics
Unit 6 wraps up the final detail. It describes how pension sharing works for state scheme benefits, in particular for SERPS. It also covers appeals and variations of pension sharing orders, and has a section on bankruptcy in relation to pension sharing.
Contents
- Introduction
- State Pensions on Divorce
- Appeals and Variations
- Bankruptcy
