Sunny Bharj
Independent Financial Adviser
Tony Springer
Independent Financial Adviser
A pension is often one of the largest things a couple owns, and in a divorce it is valued and can be divided like the rest.
In England and Wales the court can split a pension with a pension sharing order, direct part of it to the ex-partner when it is paid with an attachment order, or leave it with one person and balance it with other assets. In Scotland only the part built up during the marriage counts.
Your solicitor deals with the settlement and the court. We deal with what the pensions are worth, what each option would mean for your income in retirement, and what to do with a pension credit once you receive one.
The Pensions on Divorce etc. (Provision of Information) Regulations 2000, regulations 2 and 3, and gov.uk, checked 2 October 2026.
The pension is split when the order takes effect. Your ex-partner receives a pension credit in their own name, in the same scheme or moved to another, and the link between you ends.
The pension stays yours. When it is paid, a percentage of the income or lump sum goes to your ex-partner. Also called earmarking.
The pension stays whole and other assets, such as a larger share of the house, balance it. This is how courts and solicitors describe the practice; the legislation does not use the term.
Yes. The court must consider pensions with everything else either of you owns. In Scotland only the part built up during the marriage counts.
The scheme provides a cash equivalent transfer value. It has to do so within three months of the request, or six weeks if you say it is needed for divorce proceedings.
The flat-rate new State Pension cannot. Additional State Pension and the protected payment can be shared by a pension sharing order.
The settlement and the court order are your solicitor's work. What the pensions are worth to each of you, and what to do with a pension credit, is ours.
This page describes the law in outline and is not legal advice. The court decides how assets are divided. The value of investments and any income from them can fall as well as rise.
A court order that splits a pension on divorce, giving your ex-partner a pension of their own.
Read the answer →Only the part built up during the marriage, up to the date you separated, counts.
Read the answer →The flat-rate new State Pension cannot. Additional State Pension and the protected payment can.
Read the answer →Independent Financial Adviser
Independent Financial Adviser
A first conversation of about twenty minutes, at no cost to you. Tell us what is on your mind: a pension you have lost track of, a fixed rate ending, a will you keep meaning to write.