A pension sharing annex is the form attached to a pension sharing order that tells the pension scheme who is involved and what to share.

The order is the court's decision; the annex is the page the scheme actually works from. In England and Wales it is Form P1, and the court order has to be accompanied by one for each pension arrangement being shared. The form fixes the percentage to be shared. Fitting that into your wider retirement plans is routine for an FCA-authorised adviser; to arrange a no-cost phone conversation with one, send this page's enquiry form.

Pension sharing order vs annex: what each one does

The order says that a share of a pension will move from one person (the transferor) to the other (the transferee). The annex gives the scheme the facts it needs to carry that out. Family Procedure Rules 2010 say, at 9.35, that an order for a financial remedy which includes a pension sharing order must "state that there is to be provision by way of pension sharing or pension attachment in accordance with the annex or annexes to the order" and "be accompanied by a pension sharing annex".

Form P1 describes itself as an annex that "provides the person responsible for the pension arrangement with the information required by virtue of rules of court". It is not a separate application and it does not ask the court to decide anything; it sits behind an order that has already been made, varied or discharged. For what the order itself is, see what is a pension sharing order.

Form P1: what is in each section

HMCTS publishes the form on GOV.UK, on a page last updated on 20 October 2023. Its sections, in summary:

  • A and B: full name, other names used, birth date, address and NI number for each of them. For the transferee, a membership number if they are also in the same scheme.
  • C: the pension arrangement, who is responsible for it, a reference number and the specified percentage of the member's cash equivalent value (CEV) to be transferred. Where State Pension is to be shared, there is a line for the shared weekly amount, used when both the transferor's State Pension age and the start of the divorce or dissolution proceedings fall on or after 6 April 2016.
  • D: whether the scheme's pension sharing charges are split between the two people or paid in full by the transferor. The cost side is in what a pension sharing order costs.
  • E: whether Form D81 was filed. If it was not, the parties certify that they received the information required by Regulation 4 of the Pensions on Divorce etc (Provision of Information) Regulations 2000.
  • F and G: where the transferee has a choice, whether they prefer an internal or external transfer, and, for an external one, details of the receiving arrangement (recommended but optional).
  • H to J: whether the transferee has said if they want to move rights out of a scheme that is being wound up, and whether requested health or other information has been given.

Section C is where mistakes are costly, because it names the scheme and the percentage the scheme will act on. Missing personal details hold things up too, as the form's note explains below. Schemes can add drafting rules of their own. Teachers' Pensions, where a member can have benefits in both of its schemes, says "If differing percentages apply to each Scheme, two separate Pension Sharing Annexes will be required." How that plays out for a given scheme is covered on Teachers' Pension on divorce and NHS Pension on divorce.

Who completes the pension sharing annex?

The form is headed with the court, the case number and a solicitor's reference line for each person, and it ends with notices addressed to the scheme. Some schemes want to see the wording before the order is made: Teachers' Pensions asks members to send it the draft pension sharing order and annex for its approval. Who drafts the annex varies from case to case; to find out how yours would be handled, put your details into the form here and an adviser's phone call can cover it.

Whoever prepares it, the rules make the court responsible for getting it to the scheme. At 9.36 the rules say a court which makes a pension sharing order "must send, or direct one of the parties to send" the documents to the person responsible for the pension arrangement. Those are a copy of the final order of divorce or dissolution, and a copy of the pension sharing order "including any annex to that order relating to that pension arrangement but no other annex". So each scheme sees only its own annex. The documents are due within 7 days beginning with the later of the pension sharing order or the final order.

What the scheme does once it has the annex

The annex ends with a notice to the scheme. The scheme "must discharge your liability within the period of 4 months", counted from whichever comes later: the order taking effect, or the scheme holding everything on the form's checklist (the order with its annex, the final divorce or dissolution order, the details in sections A, B and C and, where they apply, G to J, and payment of any charges it has asked for). Section 34 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 sets the same four-month implementation period.

The form's own note adds that until the information requested is provided the order "cannot be implemented although it may be made", and that if the scheme cannot begin it should send its reasons to both people "within 21 days of receipt of the pension sharing order and this annex". The dates for the order itself, and what to do if a scheme is late, are in how long a pension sharing order takes and what to do if it has not been implemented.

If you are the person receiving a share, the choice in section F matters, because an internal transfer keeps the credit in the same scheme and an external one moves it elsewhere. Weighing an internal credit against an external transfer? An adviser can talk it over by phone once you send the form here.

Scotland: no Form P1

Form P1 is headed for the Family Court and cites the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004, so it belongs to England and Wales. In Scotland the power is in s. 8(1)(baa) of the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985. The sheriff court rules, as amended in 2000, required a pursuer seeking such an order to give formal notice (intimation) to the person responsible for the pension arrangement, and said "a notice of intimation in Form F12B shall be attached to the initial writ". That is the 2000 wording; a Scottish solicitor can confirm which papers the current rules require. The Scottish position is set out on pensions on divorce in Scotland.

Frequently asked questions

Is a pension sharing annex the same as the order?

No. The order is the court's decision and the annex is the form that goes with it to give the scheme the details. The scheme needs both.

Is there one annex for each pension?

Yes. The rules (9.35) require one annex for each pension arrangement where provision is made for more than one. A pension compensation sharing order from the Pension Protection Fund is a different order; see pension sharing orders vs compensation sharing orders.

Does the annex cover other ways of dividing a pension?

No. Form P1 is for sharing. Pension attachment orders need a pension attachment annex, and the same rules treat them separately. The differences are explained in pension sharing vs earmarking.

Can the order be made before the scheme has all the information?

The form's note says it may be made but cannot be implemented until the requested information is provided.

Where can I get Form P1?

HMCTS publishes it on GOV.UK under the title Pension sharing annex: Form P1, in English and in a bilingual Welsh-English version. The wider picture is in what happens to your pension on divorce.

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