Pension Sharing Order Solicitors

Under the new divorce procedure in England and Wales, the old terms Decree Nisi and Decree Absolute have been replaced by Conditional Order and Final Order. A Pension Sharing Order is usually made within the financial order, but it only takes effect on the later of the Final Order being granted or 28 days after the pension sharing order is made, and the pension scheme then has an “implementation period” of up to four months (once it has the required information) to put the split into practice.

To get a Pension Sharing Order, you normally deal with it as part of your overall financial settlement in divorce (or civil partnership dissolution). If you and your ex agree terms, your solicitor can prepare a draft consent order (including the pension sharing provisions) and submit it to the court with the required financial information for approval; if you can’t agree, you apply for a financial order and the court can make a Pension Sharing Order after the necessary disclosure and hearings. Once the court makes the order, the pension scheme can implement the split (usually after the Final Order).

Pension sharing in divorce isn’t worked out using a fixed formula like “half each”, it’s usually calculated by looking at the value of the pension(s) (often using the Cash Equivalent Transfer Value/CETV) and then deciding what percentage split is needed to achieve a fair overall settlement, taking account of needs, ages, and retirement provision. In more complex cases (especially final salary/defined benefit schemes), solicitors often use a pension expert report to help ensure the percentage share reflects real retirement outcomes, not just the headline CETV figure.

Yes. A pension sharing order can be made on both divorce and the dissolution of a civil partnership in England and Wales, and it works in the same way, splitting pension benefits so the receiving party gets their own separate pension entitlement. The key point is that it must be made as part of the court-approved financial order, so the pension scheme can implement it properly.

A Pension Sharing Order splits the pension at the point of divorce/dissolution by transferring an agreed percentage into a separate pension entitlement for the receiving party (a “pension credit”). This usually supports a clean break, because each of you has your own pension going forward.

A pension attachment (earmarking) order doesn’t create a separate pension for your ex. Instead, it directs the scheme to pay a portion of your pension benefits to them in the future (for example, from your pension income or lump sum), meaning you can remain financially linked and the outcome can depend on factors like when you retire and the scheme’s rules.

In most cases no, the basic/new State Pension itself can’t usually be split by a Pension Sharing Order, particularly where the pension holder reaches State Pension age on or after 6 April 2016.

However, depending on your circumstances, some “extra” State Pension entitlements (such as Additional State Pension under the old system or a protected payment) may still be relevant and can sometimes be dealt with as part of the wider settlement.

Yes, the length of the marriage is one of the factors that can influence how pensions are treated, because the court will look at what’s fair in the context of your relationship and future needs. In longer marriages, pensions built up over many years are more likely to be viewed as part of the shared “matrimonial pot”, whereas in shorter marriages the court may look more closely at when the pension was built up and whether a different approach (or a smaller share) is fair. Ultimately, the outcome depends on the overall settlement and needs, particularly housing and retirement provision for both of you.