> MY HEADING

Years ago, Marou Duyvelaar (60) was married to a seafarer. The marriage foundered, but the notary gave her some pension advice that she’s grateful for to this day. More attention should be paid to divorce and your pension, she believes.

'I was about 19 when we got married, and we split up when I was about 30. We were discussing the divorce settlement with the notary and the topic of pensions came up. I didn't have a job – my husband didn't think it was necessary. So I wasn't building up a pension myself, but I was building up a partner's pension through him. I didn't have any idea about it, there was absolutely no guidance on that at the time. The notary told me I had two options: buy out that partner's pension or leave it for later. His advice was to leave it for later, so I took his advice without thinking any more about it. With my present husband, I had a garage business. We didn't have a pension scheme. My husband did have a pension insurance policy, but we cancelled it because it was too expensive. About twenty years ago we sold the company and after that I started working as an employee. I did that for about thirteen years; then I had to stop for health reasons. I kept it up as long as possible, partly because I’d accrued so little pension. I now have disability benefit and my husband gets the state pension. Three years ago, my ex-husband passed away and the pension fund informed me that I’m entitled to a partner's pension. I filled in everything and sent it back. We don't really need the money, but it's a nice addition. So I’m really glad the notary thought about it back then! You hear so little about divorce and the partner's pension. I think the pension fund and the members themselves should pay a bit more attention to it. There are probably more people in the same situation as I was when I was 30.'