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If you assume the worst and say CMS will assess you on the full £35k (and I'm not sure they do), 8% (assumed return) works out at £2800 per year, and then depending on how many children, you will be assessed up to 20% of this, so £560 per year or about £45 per month. This is worst case figures, so if you are intending to buy a house in the nearish future, then the child maintenance on your savings isn't actually going to cost a lot.
If you assume the worst and say CMS will assess you on the full £35k (and I'm not sure they do), 8% (assumed return) works out at £2800 per year, and then depending on how many children, you will be assessed up to 20% of this, so £560 per year or about £45 per month. This is worst case figures, so if you are intending to buy a house in the nearish future, then the child maintenance on your savings isn't actually going to cost a lot.
8% return? I wish!
Yes hoping its short term, but as its a high figure so HMRC will be aware, can see them demanding yet more money.
Given its from a court order, can't see how she can get that as well - as the extra isn't for kids, but to benefit her ultimately. She already gets £800/month!
Ah, if it's all by court order, then no, I don't think you need to worry. It's only if it's by CMS that it would be re-assessed.
What percentage does CMS consider to be ok for each age range before it is classed as diversion of income please? Do you have any link to this info?
@mrwhytes @actd
This link is to a comprehensive document dealing with all different kinds of variation, Chapter 36 deals with diversion of incomee :-
One specific way to divert income is via additional pension contributions - for this specific method there are threshold values in para 36014 which detail what is an 'acceptable' level of pension contribution based on % of income and your age. However note that the age in this table is when you started making pension contributions - and I think this is often misunderstood even by CMS themselves as your current age. In any case I think this table is almost unusable in my view because you may have stopped and started contributions throughout your working life - and para 36012 bullet 7 refers to this as a consideration.
Para 36019 states that the Decision Maker should initially refer to para 36014, but in complex cases (or where either party disputes the decision) the table in para 36020 should be used instead. This is much easier to apply and depends on your current projected pension income and your current income.
Take a look at the link
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/child-maintenance-decision-makers-guide
It gives examples of what are eligible assets
I've just stumbled across this article as it looks like a Notional Income Variation will be applied to my circumstances
I am currently unemployed and living off savings interest. I'm not entitled to claim benefits
The CMS have asked me to provide savings statements. I have already sent them my last monthly interest statements for the accounts I hold. Would they go off this rather than applying a flat 8% to the savings capital ?
The other asset I have is a pension fund which I'm not able to draw from until retirement age. Would this be out of scope ?
As an aside to this my ex partner received a divorce settlement of £550k back in 2021 out of which she purchased a house outright for £297k
Despite significant financial assets remaining (unless she has made them disappear) she is claiming benefits and recently put in a claim for legal aid. I can only opine this is fraudulent behaviour
She has no plans to work and obviously prefers to rely on me
I would really be grateful for some advice here. I feel I'm getting screwed over regally
TIA
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