Skip to content
Divorce Finance Specialists

3 articles

Pensions and Divorce

Practical guides on pensions and divorce for people divorcing or separating in the UK.

  • Pensions and Divorce

    Later-life divorce: pensions, the home and the 2027 IHT change

    Divorcing later in life changes the financial shape of the case. After decades of work the pension is often the largest asset in the pot, frequently worth more than the family home, and with little working runway left, pension sharing usually protects both people better than offsetting. The state pension follows its own rule: the new state pension cannot be shared at all, apart from any protected payment. Housing is harder because mortgage affordability is assessed on retirement income, and the estate-planning knock-ons are bigger than most people expect: a final order rewrites how your will operates, ends the spouse exemption for inheritance tax, and from 6 April 2027 unused pension funds will fall into the inheritance tax net, which changes the arithmetic of who keeps the pension. Means-tested benefits such as Pension Credit can also move with the settlement. This guide walks through each piece with the current figures for England and Wales.

    6 min read

  • Pensions and Divorce

    Pension sharing vs offsetting in divorce: how the two compare

    The two main ways of dealing with a pension in a divorce are sharing and offsetting, and they solve different problems. A pension sharing order splits the pension itself, giving the other person a percentage of it as a pension in their own name and a clean break on that asset. Offsetting leaves the pension untouched and gives the other person a larger share of something else, usually the home, in exchange. Neither is universally better, and the offsetting comparison is genuinely hard to do fairly because a pound of pension is not a pound of cash. This is information, not advice: which route fits a given case is a decision for a family solicitor, an actuary or PODE, and a regulated financial adviser.

    8 min read

  • Pensions and Divorce

    Pensions and Divorce: Sharing, Offsetting and Attachment Explained

    Pensions are often the second largest asset in a divorce, and the most commonly ignored. In England and Wales there are three legal mechanisms for dealing with them: pension sharing orders, offsetting and attachment orders. This guide explains how each works, what a cash equivalent value is and why it can mislead, what happens to the state pension, and how sharing orders are implemented after the final order. It is information only: nothing here recommends any pension decision or product, and pension choices should be checked with a regulated financial adviser.

    8 min read
Back to all articles