Ending your marriage or registered partnership

You are retired and are going to divorce or separate. What do you need to arrange as regards your pension benefit?

You were married or in a registered partnership
Divorce or separation can affect your pension.

• Were you already married or in a registered partnership before you retired?
  In that case, the law states that your partner is entitled to half of the retirement pension that was built up during the marriage or partnership. That is referred to as equalisation. Report this to STIP within 2 years of your divorce. Use the following government form for this purpose: 'Mededelingsformulier in verband met verdeling van ouderdomspensioen bij scheiding'. (This is a notification form that specifies how retirement pension is to be divided following a divorce). If you report your divorce after 2 years, equalisation will no longer be effected via your pension fund but will have to be arranged between the former partners. You may also jointly make alternative arrangements. These must be documented in your prenuptial agreement, partnership terms or divorce agreement.
• Were you not yet married or in a registered partnership before you retired?
  Divorce or separation will then have no effect on your pension benefit.

If you wish to equalise your pension, you must contact STIP within 2 years of divorcing or separating. If you have jointly made other arrangements, let us know in good time. Read more about Divorce.

You were cohabiting
The pension benefit remains unchanged.

• Were you already cohabiting before you retired?
  When you die, your ex-partner is entitled to a special partner’s pension. You may also jointly make alternative arrangements in this regard. De-register your partner with STIP, via

  My pension

  at My personal details.
• Were you not yet cohabiting before your retirement date?
  Did you start cohabiting after your retirement date? In that case your ex-partner will not be entitled to partner’s pension nor to special partner’s pension when you die.

The State pension (AOW) benefit
If you both receive State pension (AOW) benefit, the amount of this benefit may change. Read more about the State pension (AOW) on the site of the Social Insurance Bank: SVB.nl.