The Divorce Act and Pension Funds
Section 7(7)(a) of the Divorce Act of 1979 deals with a spouse’s pension interest. Before this amendment, a spouse’s pension interest didn’t form part of determining the estate’s value in a divorce. So, for example, if your spouse had R2 million in a pension fund, a divorce settlement didn’t need to include this when valuing the assets to be split – whether you’re married in community of property or subject to the accrual system. The Section 7(7)(a) amendment changed all of this, deeming the value of your pension to be part of your asset calculation along with the balance of your assets.....
Read MoreDivorce Settlement Agreements: Protecting Pension Funds
While divorce settlement agreements are sticky at best, and horrifically complicated at worst, understanding your rights to certain assets during the divorce procedure is critical. One of the most important assets to consider are pension funds – the loss of which can leave either party extremely vulnerable. The pension interest of a party is deemed to be part of his or her assets, in the determination of patrimonial benefits to which the parties to a divorce action may be entitled – as is stated in section 7(7) of the Divorce Act. Whilst this may seem a simple proposition, it has led to...
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