Challenges with Valuing Defined Benefit Pensions in Divorce

Although becoming less numerous, divorce practitioners continue to have a number of clients where one or both parties have defined benefit pensions.  Like social security, pensions provide a stream of income to the beneficiary with no specific value as opposed to most other financial accounts.  Hence divorce lawyers, mediators and judges tend to divide the stream of income without regard to actual value to the  parties. Alternatively, a valuation can be performed, enabling the inclusion of the pension as one of the couple’s assets. This presentation will review some  of the challenges with valuing pensions for the purpose of division in a divorce .