Are divorced wives losing out on pensions?

There has been widespread publicity on a report produced by Age UK concluding that divorcing wives are losing out on pension entitlements. The report indicates that statistically a wife's right to a share of the husband's pension is not considered as seriously as a loss of a share in other family assets. This suggests that divorcing wives are not aware of their rights in relation to a share of the husband's pension, which then raises a question: are those advising divorcing wives doing enough to protect their client's interests?

This is a truly shocking statistic and certainly bears no resemblance to our experience, nor that of our fellow specialist Family lawyers. To clarify, a divorcing spouse has a right to claim one half of the other spouse's pension assets and entitlements in the same way as they are entitled to claim one half of any other asset.

This is a complicated area and the right advisor will often consult a specialist financial expert (these can be specialists within an IFA firm or a stand-alone pensions expert) to obtain the best possible outcome for a wife.

With the correct advice from a lawyer who is fully au fait with the wife's rights we should see a decline in this worrying trend.