Pension Sharing Orders
The decisions you make about pensions during divorce or dissolution may affect your financial position for many years. One person may have built up substantial workplace or private pension benefits, while the other may have reduced their hours, taken time away from work or prioritised caring responsibilities. In other cases, both parties may have several different pensions that are difficult to understand or compare.
Pension sharing is one way of dealing with this imbalance. A Pension Sharing Order transfers a percentage of one person’s shareable pension rights into provision for their former spouse or civil partner. The resulting pension rights are held separately, giving each person greater independence as they plan for the future.
At Cullimore Dutton, we will explain what provision exists, what the figures mean and how pensions fit alongside the rest of your financial settlement, helping you make decisions with a clearer view of both your immediate needs and your future retirement.
You will receive more guidance, more clarity and more reassurance than you might expect from a standard service. Call us today or complete the form below to arrange an initial conversation with one of our family law specialists.
When to consider pension sharing
Pension sharing may be considered where there is a significant difference between the retirement provision built up by each person.
This may arise where one person has taken time away from work or reduced their hours to care for children, where one person has built up a valuable defined benefit or public sector pension, or where pensions make up a substantial part of the overall assets.
It may also be relevant where there is not enough property, savings or other capital to address the difference through pension offsetting or an attachment order.
Whether pension sharing is suitable will depend on factors such as:
- the type and value of the pensions involved
- the income they may provide in retirement
- the age, health and retirement plans of each person
- when the benefits can be accessed
- the other assets and sources of income available
- each person’s present and future needs
- any guarantees or scheme-specific features
We will explain how these considerations apply to your circumstances and whether further specialist pension analysis may be appropriate.
Why work with Cullimore Dutton?
Pension sharing brings together family law, pension scheme rules and long-term financial planning. We take time to understand the wider picture, including your housing, income, savings and retirement needs, so the advice reflects your circumstances as a whole.
We are also one of the few firms able to offer legal and financial services under one roof. This can be particularly helpful following a pension share, when legal implementation and future retirement planning may need to work together. It means fewer moving parts, clearer communication and a more joined-up view of your position.
Cullimore Dutton’s heritage dates back to 1792. That longstanding experience is reflected in the way we work today: carefully, clearly and with a strong focus on keeping you informed throughout your matter.
Above all, you can expect calm, respectful support. We know financial discussions during divorce can feel personal and uncertain, and we will help you move forward at a sensible pace without unnecessary jargon or pressure.
How our pension sharing solicitors can help
Pension sharing requires clear financial disclosure, a proper understanding of the benefits involved, an accurately drafted court order and implementation by the relevant pension scheme.
We guide you through each stage, explaining what information is needed, what the figures may mean and which decisions need to be made.
Building a clear picture
The first step is to establish what pension provision exists and obtain the information needed to understand it.
This may include workplace and personal pensions, defined benefit schemes, including final salary pensions, pensions already in payment, Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPP) and overseas pension interests. Relevant State Pension information may also need to be obtained.
Both parties are generally expected to provide full and accurate financial disclosure. We can help identify the documents required and address concerns where information appears to be missing or incomplete.
Understanding pension values
Pension providers can usually supply a Cash Equivalent Value (CEV), although the terminology used may vary between schemes.
This provides an important starting point, but it does not always reflect the full financial benefit or the retirement income it may provide. Two pensions with similar CEV may provide very different benefits in retirement.
In some cases, advice from a pensions expert or qualified actuary may be needed to provide a report, or assess what percentage pension share could work towards a particular division of retirement income.
Specialist evidence is not needed in every case. We will explain whether it is likely to add useful clarity and what the separate cost may be before instructions are given.
Considering pensions within the wider settlement
We look at how the pensions fit alongside the family home, savings, investments, debts, business interests, income, maintenance and each person’s housing and retirement needs.
You may be deciding between retaining more equity in the home and receiving a share of a pension. You may also have concerns about income before retirement or whether a pension share is likely to meet your needs later in life.
We help you consider these issues as part of the larger settlement, rather than treating each asset separately.
Negotiating and recording the arrangements
Where possible, pension arrangements may be agreed through direct negotiation, solicitor-led discussions, mediation or another suitable form of dispute resolution.
Where agreement is not possible, the court can determine how pensions and the wider finances should be dealt with. We will explain the process, help you prepare the necessary evidence and represent your position throughout the proceedings.
Once terms are agreed, they must be recorded accurately in a financial order. This will usually include a pension sharing annex setting out the pension scheme, the percentage to be transferred and the information needed for implementation.
We prepare or review the relevant documents carefully and consider any scheme-specific requirements before the order is finalised.
Implementing the Pension Sharing Order
Obtaining the court order is not the final administrative step. Once the sealed order and necessary documents are available, a debit will be applied to the original member’s benefits and a credit will be created for the recipients.
We can help monitor the process and address queries or delays where they arise.
Considering your position after implementation
After the sharing order has been implemented, the recipient may still need to make decisions about the new pension rights.
Depending on the scheme, the pension credit may remain within the existing arrangement or need to be transferred elsewhere. Further decisions may also be needed about retirement timing, income needs and how the pension fits with other savings and retirement provision.
Where appropriate, Cullimore Dutton’s expert divorce solicitors can coordinate with our financial planning team. Helping to ensure that you receive joined-up advice as you plan for the future.
Who will work on your pension sharing matter?
Your matter will be led by Brenda Spain, our Client Relationship Director and Head of Family. Brenda will oversee your case and, where appropriate, you may also be supported by other experienced members of the family team.
Where specialist pension calculations or retirement planning are required, we can help coordinate the appropriate expert or financial adviser. We will be clear about each person’s role, what their work is expected to add and any separate cost involved.
You will have a consistent point of contact for updates and practical questions, helping you feel informed and supported throughout your matter.
Key Contact
Frequently asked questions about pension sharing orders
A Pension Sharing Order is a court order that divides a person’s pension during a divorce or end of a civil partnership. It awards a provision for the other as part of the financial settlement.
The pension member’s benefits are reduced by a pension debit, while the recipient receives a pension credit in their own name.
The percentage may be negotiated by considering the pension information, the wider assets and each person’s future needs.
In some cases, a pensions on divorce expert may be asked to calculate a percentage intended to work towards a particular division of pension capital or estimated retirement income.
There is no single percentage that applies to every case.
The treatment of State Pension rights depends on the type of entitlement and when those rights arose.
The current State Pension framework differs from the system that applied before 6 April 2016, and certain historic additional State Pension rights may need to be considered separately.
We can help identify what information should be obtained and whether any shareable State Pension rights may be relevant alongside your workplace and private pension provision.
They may be considered. There is no universal rule that pension rights built up before marriage must be excluded. The court may consider when the benefits arose, but the approach will depend on factors such as the length of the marriage, each person’s needs and the overall assets available.
Once a pension share has been implemented, the pension credit is generally held as the recipient’s own pension provision. Remarriage does not ordinarily reverse the pension share.
However, remarriage can affect unresolved financial claims in other ways, so advice should be taken before remarrying where financial matters remain outstanding.
The overall timeframe depends on how quickly pension information can be obtained, whether an expert report is required, whether agreement can be reached and how long court approval takes.
Once the order is legally effective and the pension scheme has received all required documents, information and charges, a statutory implementation period generally applies. We will keep you updated and explain any scheme-specific requirements.
Both parties are expected to provide full and honest financial disclosure.
Where information appears incomplete, legal steps may be available to obtain documents, raise questions and investigate whether additional pension rights exist.
Contact Cullimore Dutton’s pension sharing solicitors today
Whether you are trying to understand whether a pension should be shared, considering whether to keep more of the family home instead, or concerned about how a proposed settlement may affect your retirement, we will listen carefully and help you identify the next sensible step.
Good legal advice should not add to that uncertainty. It should help you understand the options, identify where further information may be needed and approach the next step with greater clarity and confidence.
Cullimore Dutton offers pension sharing advice through our family law team, with support available across our offices in Chester & Knutsford. As an established law firm whose heritage dates back to 1792, we aim to make the process easier to understand, with advice that is clear, practical and grounded in the realities of your wider financial settlement.
Because we provide legal and financial advice under one roof, we can also help connect the legal process with the retirement decisions that may follow, where this is appropriate.
To access support with pension sharing, please get in touch with our family law team at Cullimore Dutton.
You can give us a call on 01244 604926, or fill out the enquiry form at the bottom of the page and a member of our team will contact you as soon as possible.