Pensions on divorce or dissolution

When a marriage or civil partnership ends, the pensions both people have built up are part of the pot to be divided, alongside the house, savings and other assets. Pensions can only be held in one person's name, but when it comes to divorce any and all pensions need to be taken into account, and can be shared if the financial needs of either person mean that is the only way to reach a fair outcome¹. A person who makes a claim against their ex's pension is not doing anything wrong: it is their legal right to ask the court to consider the pensions in the case when the financial settlement is decided¹.

Despite this, pensions are often left out. Research published by the Money and Pensions Service in January 2026 found that only 43% of UK adults know that a pension forms part of a divorce settlement, with awareness evenly split between men (44%) and women (41%). Awareness rises with age: 57% of 55 to 64-year-olds and 59% of people aged 65 and over know a pension ought to be taken into account². The consequences of ignoring pensions are serious. Pension wealth falls following divorce, and the reduction in wealth is bigger for women than for men³.

Pensions count in a divorce or dissolution settlement

A divorce ends the marriage; it does not automatically end the financial links between two people. The financial settlement is a separate step, and it is there that pensions are brought into the picture. Pensions can only be held in one person's name, but when it comes to divorce any and all pensions need to be taken into account and can be shared if you or your ex's financial needs mean that this is the only way to get a fair outcome¹. This applies equally to marriages and to civil partnerships being dissolved.

The scale of what is at stake is easy to underestimate. Valuing pensions can be very tricky, and pensions can be worth more than the family home¹. Yet research by the Money and Pensions Service found that only four in ten (43%) adults know that a pension forms part of a divorce settlement, with awareness evenly split between men and women, 44% versus 41%. Awareness is higher among older age groups: 57% of 55 to 64-year-olds and 59% of people aged 65 and over know that a pension ought to be taken into account². A briefing from the House of Commons Library makes the same point from the other direction: pensions are often not considered during divorce, and pension wealth falls following divorce, with the reduction in wealth bigger for women than for men³.

The practical message for anyone divorcing is to think about retirement income, not just about the assets visible today. Independent guidance is blunt about this: think carefully about how you will live when you can no longer work, because it might seem too far away just now, but it is crucial to factor this in when you divorce¹.

Which pensions are included, and the State Pension exception

For divorces under English law, all pension rights will be taken into account⁴. That means workplace pensions, personal pensions, SIPPs, defined benefit (final salary) pensions and public sector scheme pensions all count, whoever's name they are in. The same principle applies in Wales and Northern Ireland: the total value of the pensions each person has built up is taken into account⁵.

The State Pension is the exception, and the rules depend on which State Pension system a person falls under:

For the Additional State Pension to be shareable, the person entitled to it must have reached State Retirement age before 6 April 2016, or the divorce application must have been put on the court's system before that date⁹. If you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, your additional State Pension could be shared⁶.

Even where the State Pension itself cannot be shared, divorce still affects it. Under the old system, you can claim on your former partner's National Insurance record if this gives you a higher rate of State Pension, if you are divorced or your civil partnership has ended¹⁰. Under the new system you cannot usually claim extra pension based on the National Insurance contributions of an ex-spouse or ex-civil partner, although there are some exceptions¹⁰. Substituting an ex-partner's National Insurance record can involve getting a court order⁷. The guides to the new State Pension and the basic State Pension and Additional State Pension cover these systems in full.

Valuing pensions: why it is tricky and why it matters

Valuing pensions can be very tricky, and pensions can be worth more than the family home, so you might need help to understand the values of the pensions in your case¹. The starting point is usually the cash equivalent transfer value (CETV): the scheme's own statement of what the pension is worth in cash terms today. For public sector schemes in Scotland, the administrator SPPA provides a pension valuation for divorce or dissolution and help with implementing sharing arrangements⁴.

Two things make valuation harder than it looks. First, the value of a defined contribution pension pot can increase or decrease depending on factors including investment returns and contributions made¹¹, so a figure from one month may not match a figure from the next. Second, a pension's CETV does not always reflect what it is worth as income: a defined benefit pension with a guaranteed income for life is not directly comparable with a pot of cash of the same headline value. The bigger the pension pot, the more likely it is that a pension sharing order will be a fairer outcome overall, especially if any of the pensions are defined benefit pensions⁹.

Where the amounts are significant, the court may ask a pensions on divorce expert, often an actuary or a highly qualified financial professional, to value all your pensions and suggest a fair division⁶. Independent guidance suggests that if the cash equivalent valuations for all your and your ex's pensions add up to more than £100,000, particularly if any are defined benefit pensions, expert help is especially worth considering⁹. The need is real: just 25% of divorcees expect more than £100,000 in their pension by retirement⁶.

Public sector pensions affected by the McCloud remedy add a further layer. For pension sharing arrangements on or after 1 October 2023, two CETVs are calculated for eligible active and deferred members: one based on legacy scheme benefits for the remedy period and one based on reformed scheme benefits, and the higher value CETV is used as the basis for the arrangement¹².

Three ways to deal with pensions: sharing, offsetting or earmarking

There are three routes a court can take, and each works in a different way.

A pension sharing order is where part of one person's pension is transferred to the other so that both parties have an equal share, and it is the most common way of dividing pensions in divorce⁶. It creates a clean break: once implemented, each person's pension is theirs alone.

Pension offsetting means the value of the pension is offset against other assets⁷. Each party retains their own pension, but the spouse with the lower pension receives a share of other assets, for example equity in a property or a lump sum, instead⁶. One common shape is keeping the family home in return for the ex-partner keeping their pension⁷. Offsetting suits people who want assets they can use now rather than in retirement, but it means trading away future income, and the comparison is rarely straightforward.

A pension attachment order, sometimes called earmarking, leaves the pension where it is and directs part of its income to the former partner when the pension holder starts taking it⁷. Its weakness is dependence: payments end when the person who owns the pension dies, or if the person receiving the pension payments remarries⁹. The comparison page on sharing or offsetting sets these two main options side by side.

Pension sharing orders: how the split works

A pension sharing order sets out a percentage of one or more of the ex-partner's pensions to be transferred⁷. The percentage, not a cash figure, is what the order specifies, so the share is worked out against the value of the pension when the order is implemented. The receiving partner can have the share transferred into a pension in their own name, or become a member of the ex-partner's scheme⁷.

The process runs in a set sequence. The scheme first provides a valuation. The court then makes the sharing order, setting the percentage. For the order to be implemented, the scheme needs the paperwork and its fee: for public sector schemes administered by SPPA, that means a copy of the Extract Decree or Dissolution Order, the Pension Sharing Order including the information required by the Pensions on Divorce (Provision of Information) Regulations 2000 Section 5, and payment of the administration charges for implementing the order⁴. The information required under Section 5 of those regulations must reach the SPPA within two months of the date of the Divorce Decree or Dissolution Order⁸.

One protection is worth knowing about during this process. A pension sharing order does not mean you will have to maintain any contact with your ex-partner⁷, which matters for anyone leaving a controlling or abusive relationship. The share becomes the receiving partner's own pension, and the scheme deals with them directly from that point.

What a pension sharing order gives you, and what it takes away

What a sharing order gives is ownership. You get a percentage of one or more of your ex-partner's pensions, transferred into a pension in your name or by joining their scheme, with no requirement to maintain contact with your ex-partner⁷. Once implemented, that share is yours: it is not affected by your ex's later choices, and, unlike an attachment order, it does not end if you remarry.

What it takes away depends on the pension being shared. If your share of your ex-spouse's pension comes from benefits they are already receiving as income, you will not be able to take a tax-free lump sum from it when you retire⁶. A pension already in payment can be shared, but the share arrives in the same form, as income rather than as an untouched pot. The rules on tax-free cash and the ways of taking money from a pension explain what a share in pot form can do.

For the person whose pension is shared, the scheme reduces their benefits to take account of the provisions of the Pension Sharing Order. They can still transfer their remaining benefits to another provider, but a copy of the order will be forwarded to the new pension provider to take account of any effect on HMRC's maximum benefit limits⁴. They cannot replace the specific pension benefits that have been given to their former spouse, though they can buy additional pension within the normal scheme regulations⁴.

Where the sharing order covers pension rights related to remediable service under the public service pensions remedy, both sides face some uncertainty. If you are a pension debit member and the order includes pension rights related to remediable service, the amount of the debit will be determined by your chosen benefits, which means your entitlement could increase or decrease¹³. If you are a pension credit member in the same position, you will receive pension rights based on the higher value between the cash equivalent transfer value for legacy scheme accrual or new scheme accrual¹³.

How long a pension sharing order takes: up to four months

Implementation is not instant. Once the SPPA has received the documents and the administration charge, it has 4 months from that date to implement the order⁸. The clock starts only when everything is in place: the Extract Decree or Dissolution Order, the sharing order with its Section 5 information, and the fee⁴. If information required under Section 5 of the Pensions on Divorce etc. (Provision of Information) Regulations 2000 is not provided within two months of the date of the Divorce Decree or Dissolution Order, the process can slip further⁸.

Where the share is being moved to a different pension provider rather than kept in the scheme, a transfer adds its own timescale. A transfer often takes between two and six weeks, but a provider has up to six months to action the request¹⁴. If a transfer is delayed, the scheme's own dispute process applies: trustees or managers must decide the matter in dispute within four months of receiving the application, and in a two-stage dispute resolution procedure they must reach a first stage decision within four months of receiving the application¹⁵. The page on what to do if a transfer is delayed covers the escalation steps, and complaints that cannot be resolved go to the Pensions Ombudsman.

Becoming a pension credit member of a public sector scheme

If the pension being shared is a public sector scheme, the receiving partner does not usually get a transferable pot. They become what is known as a credit member of the scheme. Their share of the pension remains within the scheme and cannot be transferred out, and they cannot add to its value through transfers in or purchasing additional benefits⁴.

The credit member will receive a share of the pension benefits at the same age as the normal scheme retirement age of their former spouse or civil partner, either age 60, 65 or State Pension age, depending on the scheme or section of the scheme⁴. Until that age arrives, the share simply sits in the scheme. This is a different arrangement from a share of a private or workplace defined contribution pension, which can be moved to a provider of the receiving partner's choosing, subject to the usual rules on transferring between providers.

The restriction on transfers out is not unique to public sector schemes. Guidance from Pension Wise notes that you might not be able to transfer your pension if you have a share of your ex-partner's pension following a divorce, or a scheme with special features or guarantees like a Guaranteed Minimum Pension¹⁶. Anyone weighing a transfer should also read the rules on when advice is required to transfer.

Where a pension sharing order can be held up or change

A sharing order can be delayed, or its outcome can shift, in several ways. The most common hold-up is administrative: the scheme cannot start its implementation clock until it holds the decree or dissolution order, the sharing order and the administration charge⁴. Missing the two-month deadline for providing the Section 5 information is another avoidable delay⁸.

The value itself can move. A defined contribution pot's value can increase or decrease depending on investment returns and contributions made¹¹, so the cash value of a percentage share changes between the order being made and implemented. For remedy-affected public sector pensions, the position is more structured but still not fixed: the debit member's entitlement could increase or decrease depending on their chosen benefits¹³, and the credit member's share is based on the higher of the legacy or new scheme CETV¹³.

There is also a retrospective limit on the remedy rules. The pension credit amount may change, but the change will not apply retrospectively if the pension sharing order was made before 1 October 2023 for a Chapter 1 scheme, or before the options exercise for a Chapter 2 scheme¹³.

One gap in the rules affects people whose pension is being paid by the Pension Protection Fund. A government consultation sets out that the Pensions Act 2008 and draft regulations will enable pension compensation provided by the Pension Protection Fund to be shared when a person seeks a divorce, a dissolution of their civil partnership or an annulment¹⁷, which indicates that PPF compensation has not been straightforwardly shareable in the way scheme pensions are.

Pensions on divorce in Scotland

Scotland takes a different approach, and it changes what counts. For divorces under Scots law, only pension rights relating to the period of marriage will be used in calculating the cash equivalent transfer value⁴. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the total value of the pensions each person has built up is taken into account; in Scotland, it only applies to the pension built up while you were married⁵. A pension earned entirely before the wedding, or after separation, sits outside the calculation in a way it would not in England.

The practical effect is that Scottish valuations are often smaller, and the division can look very different even where the pensions themselves are identical. The dedicated page on pensions on divorce in Scotland covers the detail. Scotland also has its own simplified process: in Scotland a simplified divorce is also called a simplified divorce in some contexts, and Independent Age notes this option for uncontested separations¹⁸. The NHS Scotland Pension Scheme 2015 replaced the previous schemes on 1 April 2015¹⁹, which matters for anyone valuing an NHS pension north of the border.

Public sector pensions in Scotland are administered by SPPA, which provides valuations for divorce or dissolution and implements sharing orders for schemes including NHS Scotland and the Scottish Teachers' Pension Scheme⁴. The four-month implementation period and the two-month information deadline described above are SPPA's own published timescales⁸.

Where to get free help

Pensions on divorce sits at the meeting point of family law and pension rules, and free, impartial support exists on both sides. The Money and Pensions Service runs MoneyHelper pensions and divorce appointments, which explain the pension options available during a divorce or dissolution². Pension Wise offers free guidance for people aged 50 and over on what their pension options are generally.

Independent Age publishes guidance on relationships and your money, including what happens to pensions and other assets when a relationship ends¹⁸. For anyone leaving an abusive relationship, Surviving Economic Abuse sets out how pension sharing and attachment orders work and how to delink financially from a former partner⁷. The House of Commons Library briefing on divorce explains the wider financial settlement framework³.