An armed forces pension can be shared on divorce by a pension sharing order, but Veterans UK values it and divides it one scheme at a time.
Veterans UK, the scheme administrator, acts only on a court order and has its own route for the figures a court needs. This guide follows it for AFPS 75, AFPS 05 and AFPS 15; it does not say what split is fair. A share changes later income, and a free enquiry in the form on this page can bring a phone call from someone at an FCA-authorised adviser firm to talk that through. The general rules are in what happens to a pension on divorce.
Getting the figures: Form 19, the cash equivalent value and current waits
Veterans UK's divorce factsheet warns that "a normal pension statement is not necessarily the valuation required by a court", and points members to Form 19 (Veterans UK, AFPS Form 19, print code 04/26). The court works from the cash equivalent value, or CEV; the older label, cash equivalent transfer value, "is only valid when pension benefits are not in payment", according to Veterans UK's remedy note (2015 Pension Remedy divorce information note, updated 24 July 2026).
Form 19 offers a free basic statement once in any 12 months, not specifically designed for divorce disclosure, or a court statement at £150.00 plus £30.00 VAT, £180.00 in total. Each scheme is normally valued and charged separately, but an AFPS 15 member with accrued rights in an older scheme gets two valuations for one charge, and charging is suspended for a remedy-eligible member already drawing a pension who has not yet received a Remediable Service Statement. Implementation charges are in what a pension sharing order costs; the steps are in how to request a pension valuation for divorce.
The statement goes to the member, even one who authorises a third party, and Veterans UK cannot update an ex-spouse on a request. If the member will not ask, the other spouse has to go back to the court, which can direct the administrator to provide a CEV. That comes from MMP 131, Veterans UK's divorce booklet of September 2016, which the July note says will be updated; its detail on this page is Veterans UK's 2016 account.
The July note says CEV processing stopped on 19 May 2026 for a review of actuarial factors and restarted on 23 July 2026 in date order, with no definitive timescale for the backlog. It puts new requests from active and deferred members at "up to 3 months"; Form 19 (print code 04/26) still says "up to 6 months", but the note is the later document. A remedy-eligible pensioner who has not yet made a remedy choice cannot be given a CEV until that is settled.
One order, a separate annex for each scheme
Form 19 asks for "a separate annex for each scheme against which the order is to apply", and the percentage can differ between them: its worked example gives the former spouse 35% of deferred AFPS 75 benefits, 10% of AFPS 05 and 5% of AFPS 15. MMP 131 puts the possible share at anything from 1% to 100%, and where an order made on or after 1 April 2015 covers both an older scheme and AFPS 15, the former spouse receives two separate credits. Veterans UK will comment on a draft order free of charge (see the pension sharing annex).
In every scheme, section 29 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 gives the member a debit and the former spouse a matching credit, set at the ordered percentage of the cash equivalent on the valuation day. Section 31 then reduces the member's benefits, applied by regulation 50 of the Armed Forces Pension Regulations 2014 (SI 2014/2336) for AFPS 15, rule D.12 of Schedule 1 to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme Order 2005 (SI 2005/438) for AFPS 05, and rule D.19 of the Army Pensions Warrant 2010 for AFPS 75. Sharing and attachment are compared in pension sharing against earmarking.
What the former spouse holds
Once the order is implemented the former spouse becomes a pension credit member with an account of their own (regulation 41 of SI 2014/2336 for AFPS 15), which, the factsheet notes, cannot be built up through service. The credit is paid on its own timetable, whatever age the member draws their pension:
| Scheme rule | Payable from | Early payment | |
|---|---|---|---|
| AFPS 75 | Rule D.13, Army Pensions Warrant 2010 | 65 according to Form 19; the Warrant as made differs (below) | From 55, reduced |
| AFPS 05 | Rules D.3 and D.4, Schedule 1, SI 2005/438 | Pension benefit age, defined in rule A.1 as 65, or when the order takes effect if later | From pension age, defined as 55, reduced, once the order has taken effect |
| AFPS 15 | Regulation 47, SI 2014/2336 | Deferred pension age (State Pension age, or 65 if higher: Public Service Pensions Act 2013, section 10(3)), or when the order takes effect if later | From 55, with an early payment reduction |
For AFPS 75 the official sources do not agree. Form 19 gives 65 for every AFPS 75 credit, and the Government Actuary's 2020 factor guidance assumes 65 for orders implemented on or after 6 April 2009. The 2010 Warrant as made splits on the order's date. Before 6 April 2009, the credit is payable at pension benefit age (60 if the order was made before 6 April 2006, otherwise 65), with a reduced pension available from 55. On or after 6 April 2009, rule D.13(3)(b) makes it payable "immediately the pension credit member reaches age 55". We read the Warrant as made, not later amendments, so the age for a given AFPS 75 order is one to confirm with Veterans UK.
Other features, from the scheme rules and MMP 131:
- A lump sum comes with the pension in AFPS 75 and AFPS 05, unless the member was already a pensioner when the order took effect (rule D.13(2) of the Warrant; rule D.3(2) of the 2005 Order). In AFPS 15 a pension lump sum "is not automatically payable".
- The credit member must claim, writing to Veterans UK at least three months before the pension is due; an early claim is reduced for life.
- The credit is never merged with a forces pension the person earned themselves (regulation 49(2) of SI 2014/2336; rule D.13(3) of Schedule 1 to SI 2005/438). It cannot be transferred out or added to, and it is paid for life even after remarriage.
- It rises with the Consumer Price Index from the transfer day. On the credit member's death, no credit-member benefits go to children, a spouse or a civil partner.
Early departure payments, compensation and the member's side
MMP 131 treats the early departure payment (EDP) under AFPS 05 and AFPS 15 as not a pension, so no debit is taken from it; the debit starts when the EDP stops and the pension begins, at 65 in AFPS 05 and State Pension age in AFPS 15 (amounts: how much an army pension is). The booklet lists EDPs, war pensions, attributable benefits and Armed Forces Compensation Scheme awards as payments that "are excluded from being shared or attached, as they are not pension benefits", payable only to the member, though a court may weigh them when offsetting (see pension offsetting on divorce). GOV.UK says that compensation scheme "compensates for any injury, illness or death which was caused by service on or after 6 April 2005", through a tax-free lump sum and a tax-free, index-linked Guaranteed Income Payment.
For the member, timing matters. The July 2026 note says that if a member leaves with an immediate pension, or starts a deferred one, before the order is implemented, the debit cannot be applied and the overpayment "will be subject to recovery". Where an order had been implemented but the debit could not be applied when the member left, that overpayment is recovered too, and the note says this "will not affect EDP payments". MMP 131 warns that a member who serves on to an immediate pension point has the debit recalculated, and the higher pension "can lead to a tax charge" through the annual allowance (its example uses 2015-16 figures). A leaving date near an order still being negotiated is worth testing against your wider finances, which an FCA-authorised adviser can do by phone: request that call, at no cost, through the form on this page.
The 2015 remedy and divorce
According to Form 19, the 2015 Pension Remedy (McCloud) applies to members in service on or before 31 March 2012 and still serving on or after 1 April 2015, including after a qualifying break of 5 years or less; the service it corrects runs from 1 April 2015 to 31 March 2022. Veterans UK says it can change the value or treatment of pension rights on divorce, and that a transfer value may change. Part 3 of the Schedule to SI 2014/2336, inserted from 1 October 2023, governs pension sharing that involves remediable service.
The July 2026 note lists cases still waiting. Where the member was already a pensioner on the transfer day, orders cannot yet be implemented; when they are, the debit applies retrospectively and the overpayment is recovered. For members who left service since 31 March 2026, orders wait for the 2026 pay award to be announced and applied. The remedy itself is covered in which armed forces pension you are on, and the statutory stages in the pension sharing order timeline.
Scotland, divorces abroad and who to ask
In Scotland an order can state a money amount rather than a percentage, and there is no attachment order, though an earmarking order can attach a pension lump sum. Veterans UK can value benefits at the agreed relevant date of separation, for an administrative charge. It cannot implement an order made by a court outside the UK. See pensions on divorce in Scotland.
Veterans UK (0800 085 3600) supplies pension information but does not decide how a couple divides assets, and cannot advise. MoneyHelper offers a free divorce or dissolution pension appointment with one of its pension specialists (snapshot of 25 March 2026). A solicitor drafts the order; a pensions on divorce expert can value a complex case. Once the split is settled, an FCA-authorised adviser can weigh what the remaining pension will pay beside your other income; there is no charge for the form on this page that arranges that conversation.
Questions about armed forces pensions and divorce
Is there an official armed forces pension divorce calculator?
The factsheet advises current Veterans UK calculations rather than "an old BIS or an online calculator estimate".
Can Veterans UK pay my ex-spouse directly without an order?
No. MMP 131 says the scheme rules do not allow a member to assign pension benefits and the Armed Forces Act 2006 prohibits assignment to a third party; payment to a former spouse needs a court order.
Does a share affect my new partner's pension?
It can. MMP 131 says the order reduces the member's benefits, and regulation 85 of SI 2014/2336 calculates AFPS 15 survivor pensions on the reduced amount.
Are reserve forces pensions shared the same way?
Form 19 covers FTRS 97, NRPS and RFPS 05 as well, each needing its own annex. It gives their payable ages as 65, except NRPS at 60.
Sources
Veterans UK and the Ministry of Defence on GOV.UK: AFPS Form 19 (04/26); MMP 131 (September 2016); 2015 Pension Remedy divorce information note (24 July 2026); divorce factsheet (2026); factor guidance (13 February 2020); Armed Forces Compensation Scheme. Legislation: SI 2014/2336; SI 2005/438; Army Pensions Warrant 2010 (as made); Public Service Pensions Act 2013; Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999. MoneyHelper (snapshot 25 March 2026).