DIVORCEES are missing out on tens of thousands of pounds in retirement if they ignore their ex’s pension.
Many people underestimate just how significant a pension can be in a divorce settlement, often assuming it belongs only to their ex, says Sarah Green, a family lawyer at Michelmores.
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She adds: “But pensions can be one of the most valuable assets, sometimes more valuable than the family home.”
When you divorce, private pensions are part of the financial settlement.
Most people have defined contribution pensions.
Their value is based on how much you pay in and on the investment growth.
A solicitor can help you get a report to get an idea of how much the pension will be worth when you retire.
Lara Davies, head of legal at OLS Solicitors, says: “It’s important to get a clear picture of all pension entitlements.
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“This can be done by requesting a so-called cash equivalent transfer value for each pension.”
There are three main options for dealing with pensions in divorce: Splitting, offsetting or earmarking.
Splitting — known as pension sharing — is the simplest.
This involves a percentage of one person’s pension being moved into the other party’s name.
The money may stay with the same provider, or move to a new pension.
Trading value of assets
Clare Moffat, pensions expert at Royal London, says: “Pension sharing is the fairest way to split a pension as then both parties own a part of the pension.
“But it’s seen as more costly and can take longer.”
Offsetting is the most popular way to deal with pensions in divorce.
It involves trading the value of a pension for other assets, such as the family home.
For example, your ex might keep their pension in full, while you get the family home.
But beware, pensions can be tricky to value, and you might end up losing out without the right specialised advice.
Clare says: “In divorce cases where there are younger children, often one parent will want to keep the house and the other parent will want the pension.
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It might be possible to downsize in retirement but for most people it still won’t provide the level of retirement income needed.”
With earmarking, also called a pension attachment order, you get the right to some of your ex’s pension.
But you’ll need to wait until you retire.
The major pitfall is that if the pension account holder dies before retirement, their ex gets nothing.
Clare says: “Pension attachment, or earmarking, orders are rarely used now.
“The person who technically owns the pension can choose when to take it, what to invest it in and if they die before they take the pension, the ex-spouse could get nothing.”
Final salary pensions are more complicated.
Their value is based on salary and years worked, and an actuary can give an accurate valuation.
Clare says: “If one partner or both partners have a defined benefit pension, like a public sector pension, then it’s essential they take legal and financial advice to make sure there is a fair split of assets.”
In England and Wales, the value of all pension savings is factored into the divorce settlement.
In Scotland, only the value of pensions built up during the marriage is included.
This means the amount saved in pensions before the marriage is not considered.
Women missing out
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WOMEN are hit hardest, with three-quarters of them revealing they did not talk about pensions when splitting up.
That is compared to 56 per cent of divorced men, according to interactive investor.
Scottish Widows estimates that women are missing out on an average of £77,000 by ignoring pensions in divorce.
Big assets like property, savings and pensions are often split in a divorce.
But experts say women shy away from claiming their share of pensions because they don’t realise their value or they worry it’s too complicated.
Women also tend to take career breaks for childcare or work part-time, meaning their pensions are already smaller.
Jackie Leiper, managing director at Scottish Widows, says: “Divorce can be an extremely stressful time, and women may be focused on the immediate situation like staying in the family home or looking for somewhere else to live and what will happen with the children.
“It can be easy for pensions to sink down to the bottom of the priorities.
“Some may prioritise keeping the family home, but this could be at the expense of a fair pension share.”
‘I PRIORITISED FAMILY HOME’
MUM-of-three Bhavna Radia was focused on getting a home for her children in her divorce.
The former family lawyer, who has since set up her own mediation and advice service Divorce Right, says: “Because of my background I know that pensions are often ignored in divorce, particularly by women.
“I knew that doing this would leave me with little for retirement, but my focus was a home for my children.”
The 53-year-old, from Kings Langley, Herts, and her former husband agreed to sell their family home and a rental property they owned so she could buy a new home without a mortgage.
Bhavna says: “We came to this decision because the children were still very young and I struggled to work full-time while taking a greater responsibility for the children as a single mum.
“While my former husband’s pension was larger, I needed stability in the short-term.
“I decided to work on my retirement provision once I had settled.”
Knowing the importance of planning for her retirement, Bhavna has since and taken steps to address her pension shortfall.
She says: “My experience of divorce opened my eyes.
“I never expected the huge emotional turmoil and how it would affect my thinking.
“So I decided to set up a service to help other women through the emotional, legal and financial side of divorce.”
Costs are soaring
THE amount needed for a basic retirement has risen by 60 per cent in three years.
According to research from the Resolution Foundation and the Living Wage Foundation, the average pension needed to cover essentials has soared from £68,300 to £107,800.
Around two-thirds of couples do not discuss pensions during divorce proceedings, according to the interactive investor’s latest Great British Retirement Survey.
WHERE TO GET HELP
- Contact a solicitor who specialises in family law. You can find one at resolution.org.uk.
- If your ex has a final salary scheme, financial advice is essential. Some pension schemes will pay for a financial adviser, or you can find one at unbiased.co.uk.
- If you can’t agree on a pension split, mediation can help. A professional mediator can guide you through negotiations and avoid a costly court case. Services such as Amicable offer divorce mediation. They help couples agree on financial settlements, including pensions.
- If you’re going through a divorce, free advice and a helpline are available on the government websites MoneyHelper and the Money and Pensions Service.
- Make sure to update any agreements that entitle your ex to a share of your pension, such as your provider’s “expression of wish” or death-in-service agreements.
