Pension Rights Equalization
Upon divorce, a pension rights equalization is typically carried out ex officio. In this process, the family court divides the pension rights acquired during the marriage equally between both spouses and transfers, on behalf of the spouse entitled to equalization and at the expense of the rights of the spouse obligated to provide equalization, a claim in the amount of the equalization value to the pension provider with whom the rights of the spouse obligated to provide equalization are held.
1. Determination of the rights to be equalized
To determine the pension rights to be equalized, the family court sends a questionnaire on pension rights equalization, in which the spouses must provide information about their existing insurance policies and the pension rights accrued during the marriage.
2. Information provided to the Family Court
The family court then requests information from the pension providers regarding the spouses' pension entitlements and subsequently issues a ruling on the pension rights equalization.
3. Enforcement of final judgments
The specific implementation of a final court decision regarding pension rights equalization is governed by the bylaws of the Saxon Medical Pension Fund. Under these bylaws, the pension entitlement of the spouse obligated to pay equalization is reduced in accordance with the court decision and allocated to the spouse entitled to equalization. The spouse entitled to the equalization thereby receives their own pension entitlement with the Saxon Medical Pension Fund without becoming a member. If both spouses are members of the Saxon Medical Pension Fund, the pension rights equalization is carried out through offsetting.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pension Rights Equalization
As long as the pension entitlement has not yet arisen, the reduction in pension entitlements resulting from the pension rights equalisation can be wholly or partially offset by paying a lump sum (known as a ‘replenishment payment’) to the Saxon Medical Pension Fund.
The Articles of Association of the Saxon Medical Pension Fund stipulate that an internal division must take place. This enables the spouses to share equally in the pension entitlements accrued during the marriage. The court therefore, by its final decision, transfers half of the pension entitlements accrued during the marriage with the Saxon Medical Pension Fund to the former spouse. The former spouse thereby receives their own pension entitlement with the Saxon Medical Pension Fund without becoming a member as a result of this transfer.
It is not possible to transfer pension entitlements from other pension providers to the Saxon Medical Pension Fund by way of an external division.
The period of marriage relevant for the equalisation of pension rights begins on the first day of the month in which the marriage was contracted and ends on the last day of the month preceding the service of the petition for divorce.
In certain special cases, the pension rights equalisation may be adjusted after the order has become final. For example, an adjustment is possible if the spouse liable for equalisation receives a disability pension or pays maintenance to the spouse entitled to equalisation, and the latter is not yet able to receive benefits from the pension entitlements acquired through the pension rights equalisation. Furthermore, an adjustment is possible if the spouse entitled to the pension rights equalisation dies and has themselves received a pension from the pension rights acquired through the pension rights equalisation for a maximum of 36 months.