The appendices cover issues including implementation, the impact of insolvency, content of PODE reports; assumptions behind them, the range of acceptable methods for calculations and issues relating to costs.
PAG2 also touches on the impact of McCloud in the context of matrimonial proceedings. The McCloud judgment has created a minefield.
The writer’s experience is many public sector schemes are not issuing CEV’s that are McCloud compliant, which means that the court is currently struggling to progress timetables because in some instances actuaries are unable to undertake reports or obtain CEV’s.
Overall, PAG2 is a welcome update for practitioners across the spectrum, but it remains clear that pension sharing on divorce can be fraught with uncertainty and complexity. Each case will turn on its own merits and there remains a degree of judicial discretion.
The potential for further developments in legislation and case law adds a further layer of uncertainty, particularly as opinion polls suggest that a change of government is likely in the next general election, which could have wider consequences, including for example in relation to the lifetime allowance.
Mark Heppinstall is a director in family law at Freeths’ Leeds office
