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Pensions and Divorce: What Women Need to Know Before a Financial Settlement

Writer: Women of our Time
Women of our Time
Oct 7
8 min read
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Divorced women in the UK typically have £53,160 less in pension savings than divorced men, holding just 39% of the pension wealth of their male counterparts.

Hello and welcome to this week's WOOT blog. This one is for every woman sitting in the early, quiet stages of a divorce, focused entirely on the house and the solicitor's letters, while something potentially just as important sits unaddressed in the background.


For the woman who has not thought about her pension yet because there is simply too much else to think about right now.


And for the woman who deserves to understand the full financial picture before decisions are made, rather than years afterwards when the consequences become clearer.


The Reality of Pensions and Divorce

Research published by now and the Pension Policy Institute in 2026 found that divorced women in the UK have median pension wealth of £32,640, compared with £85,800 for divorced men.

That is a difference of £53,160.


Women therefore hold just 39% of the pension wealth of divorced men.


Pensions can also be a major financial asset when a marriage ends. GOV.UK specifically lists pensions alongside property, savings and investments when explaining the finances that need to be considered during divorce or dissolution.


Yet they can easily disappear from the conversation.


A Which? survey of 948 members who had divorced found that 71% did not include pensions in their financial settlement.


Understanding pensions and divorce early therefore matters. Not because every pension should automatically be divided equally, but because you cannot make an informed decision about your financial future if one of the major assets has never properly entered the conversation.


Why Pensions Are Often Overlooked in Divorce

Property is visible.


You can picture a house. You know roughly what it is worth. You understand why keeping it, selling it or dividing its value matters immediately.


Pensions are different.


They are deferred. They can be spread across several employers and schemes. Different types of pension can behave differently. Their value on a statement does not always tell you everything you need to know about the retirement income they could eventually provide.


And when you are already navigating the emotional, legal and practical realities of separating, it is understandable that something you might not access for another twenty or thirty years feels less urgent than where you are going to live next month.


But less immediate does not mean less important.


A financial settlement can appear reasonable today while creating a very different picture later in life.


Why the Pension Gap Matters for Women

The pension wealth gap does not begin at divorce.


Women are more likely to experience career breaks, caring responsibilities, part-time employment and lower earnings during their working lives. All of these can affect the amount paid into workplace and private pensions.


The 2026 now research found that 30% of divorced women work part time, compared with 10% of divorced men, while divorced women earned 37% less on average in the data analysed.

Divorce can therefore expose a financial difference that may have been developing throughout the marriage.


This does not mean assuming that one person has done something wrong.


It means making sure the financial settlement looks at the whole picture.


If one person spent years reducing their hours, taking career breaks or carrying more unpaid caring responsibilities while the other continued building pension wealth, simply dividing the assets that are easiest to see may not tell the whole financial story.



Explore More with Women of Our Time



Pensions and Divorce: 5 Things to Raise Before Your Financial Settlement


You do not need to become a pensions expert overnight.


You do need to know that pensions belong in the conversation.


Here are five places to start.


1. Get the Full Pension Picture

Instead of: focusing entirely on the house.


Try: identifying every pension held by both parties.


Make sure workplace and private pensions are included, including pensions from previous employers that may not have been thought about for years.


Depending on the pension and where in the UK you live, different valuation information may be required.


The important thing at this stage is simple.


Do not assume a pension is insignificant because nobody has mentioned it yet.


2. Ask About Pension Sharing

Instead of: assuming pensions have already been dealt with.


Try: asking directly what options have been considered.


In England and Wales, one option available through the courts is a pension sharing order.


A pension sharing order allows a percentage of one person's pension rights to be allocated to their former spouse or civil partner, creating pension benefits in that person's own name.


This is different from a pension attachment order, where ownership of that portion of the pension is not transferred in the same way.


Ask your solicitor what options apply to your circumstances and why a particular approach is being recommended.


Do not assume that because pensions have not been discussed, they are irrelevant.


3. Consider Specialist Financial Advice

Instead of: relying on one professional to answer every financial question.


Try: getting the right expertise for the right part of the process.


Divorce solicitors can advise on the legal aspects of a financial settlement.


But pensions can become technically complicated, particularly where there are defined benefit pensions, public sector schemes, several pension pots or significant differences between each person's retirement provision.


MoneyHelper advises that people considering how to divide pensions may benefit from both legal advice and financial advice. A solicitor can also involve a Pensions on Divorce Expert, often shortened to PODE, where specialist pension analysis is required.


You do not have to understand every calculation yourself.


You need access to someone who does.


4. Look Beyond Today's Settlement

Instead of: asking only what you will receive now.


Try: asking what each option could mean later.


Imagine two proposed settlements.


One gives you more of the house.


Another gives you slightly less property but includes pension provision.


They might look relatively similar on a spreadsheet today.


Their impact at retirement could be very different.


Ask what the proposed settlement means not only for your immediate finances but also for your longer-term retirement position.


That might include considering:

  • expected pension income

  • retirement age

  • housing costs later in life

  • whether you will need to rebuild pension savings

  • the effect of future employment or part-time work

  • what happens to different pension benefits under each option


A settlement is not only about getting through the next twelve months.


It is also about the life you will be funding afterwards.


5. Build a Support Network Around You

Instead of: trying to understand everything alone.


Try: combining professional advice with practical support.


Solicitors and financial advisers have an important role.


So do people who have actually experienced divorce.


Talking to other women can surface questions you had not realised you needed to ask.

What did they overlook?



What took them by surprise?

What do they wish they had understood before agreeing their settlement?


Lived experience should not replace professional legal or financial advice.


But it can help you become a much better-informed participant in those professional conversations.


Don't Finalise the Conversation Without Asking About Pensions

The message here is not that every woman going through divorce should fight for a particular percentage of somebody else's pension.


There is no universal settlement that is right for everyone.


It is much simpler than that.


Make sure pensions are actually part of the conversation.


Know what exists.


Understand what it may be worth.


Ask what your options are.


Understand what each proposed settlement could mean for your future.


And if something does not make sense, keep asking until it does.


The rules and procedures around divorce and pensions also differ across England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, so make sure the advice you receive applies to where you live.

You are making decisions that could affect decades of your financial life.


You are allowed to take the time to understand them.


This article provides general information and is not individual legal, pension or financial advice. Your circumstances will be different from someone else's, so consider speaking to an appropriate solicitor and regulated financial adviser before making decisions about a divorce settlement.


You Don't Have to Navigate This Alone

If this post has you wondering whether your own financial settlement has properly considered pensions, you are exactly who Womeniverse™ is for.


Womeniverse™ is the Women of Our Time community where women support women at work and in life.


It is a practical, judgement-free space for exactly these kinds of conversations. The ones that feel difficult to raise, complicated to understand and far too easy to postpone.


Inside you will find:

  • peer support from women who have experienced divorce and separation

  • practical conversations about the financial realities of separation

  • access to the Women of Our Time Support Hub

  • a community where you can ask questions without judgement

  • conversations that help you feel informed and supported rather than alone with a stack of paperwork



Here’s how you can take the first step: 


Join the Womeniverse for £30/year (currently FREE) → https://www.womenofourtime.uk/women-of-our-time-community

 

 

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Your Only Agenda is You.


With support, The Women of Our Time Team


P.S. If you know a woman in the early stages of divorce, send her this before the financial settlement is finalised, not afterwards.



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Pensions and Divorce: Frequently Asked Questions


Q. Isn't Wanting More Just Ambition?

A. Ambition itself is not the problem. Wanting to develop, achieve meaningful goals or build something you are proud of can be positive and fulfilling.


The problem begins when achievement becomes the only route to feeling acceptable, so that nothing ever feels like enough. The aim is not to want less. It is to separate genuine ambition from a pattern that never lets you feel satisfied with what you have already achieved.

A. Yes. Pensions are one of the financial assets that may need to be considered when separating finances after divorce or dissolution, alongside property, savings and investments.


What happens to them will depend on your individual circumstances and the law that applies where you live.

A. In England and Wales, a pension sharing order allows the court to allocate a percentage of one person's pension rights to their former spouse or civil partner.


That share then provides pension benefits in the recipient's own name rather than simply remaining part of their former partner's pension.

A. No.


A pension sharing order creates separate pension rights for the recipient.


With a pension attachment order, payments from the original member's pension may instead be directed to their former spouse or civil partner, but ownership is not transferred in the same way.


The appropriate option depends on individual circumstances, so specialist advice can be important.

A. Not necessarily.


If your financial arrangements have not been finalised, raise the issue with your solicitor as soon as possible.


GOV.UK notes that financial orders can be applied for during divorce proceedings or afterwards, although applying after the final divorce order can have financial consequences, particularly for pensions.



 
 
 

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