Pensions and divorce: how pensions are split, and what to talk about before you need to

The short answer: Your pensions aren't automatically split 50:50 when you divorce, and neither of you has an automatic right to the other's. They're counted with everything else you own, then dealt with by pension sharing, pension attachment or offsetting. In England and Wales, an agreed split needs a court-approved consent order, which costs £62.

Can my partner take half my pension in a divorce?

Not automatically. MoneyHelper is clear that you don't have to split or share your pensions when you separate. If you do share them, the split doesn't have to be equal.

If you're going through this now, it can feel like a lot to take in on top of everything else. You don't have to sort it all out at once. The first step is simply knowing what you both have, and MoneyHelper offers a free pensions and divorce appointment to talk your options through.

That matters because pensions are often bigger than people think. MoneyHelper says they might be your biggest assets and can be worth more than your home. So they belong in the conversation about how to split things fairly, alongside the house, savings and debts. GOV.UK says you might get a share of your partner's pension, including State Pension or private pension plans.

It can feel awkward to ask for part of a pension you never paid into. But MoneyHelper points out that a pension is a joint asset like anything else. You may have contributed in other ways, for example by spending more time caring for your family or home while your partner kept working. If career breaks have left your own pot smaller, our guide to pensions through early parenthood and career breaks explains how that happens.

If you can't agree, a court can decide. GOV.UK explains that a judge looks at things like how long you were together, your ages, what you each can earn and your living costs. Children's needs come first. The reason for the divorce isn't taken into account.

Capital at risk. The value of your pension can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you pay in.

How are pensions split on divorce: sharing, attachment or offsetting?

There are three main ways, and you can usually use one or more of them:

1. Pension sharing. Part of one person's pension moves into the other person's name. You agree a percentage (a fixed amount in Scotland).

2. Pension attachment (also called earmarking). The pension stays put, but the pension provider pays an agreed share to your ex when it starts paying out.

3. Pension offsetting. One of you keeps the pension, and the other gets more of something else, such as the home or savings.

Based on MoneyHelper's guide for England and Wales. Scotland and Northern Ireland have some different rules.

Pension sharing gives you a clean break, because you each end up with your own separate pension.

Pension attachment comes with more strings. MoneyHelper warns there's no guarantee any money will be paid out. The order usually ends if the person receiving payments marries someone else, or if either of you dies (unless it covers death benefits). The person who owns the pension usually decides when to take it, and that normally can't happen before 55 (rising to 57 from April 2028). The owner also normally pays the Income Tax on both shares, so you might need to adjust the split so each of you gets what you expect.

Offsetting can look simple, but comparing a pension with cash or property is tricky. MoneyHelper notes that you might wait years to get at a pension, and then pay Income Tax on it. So £50,000 in a pension isn't worth the same to you as £50,000 in the bank. If you keep the home and your ex keeps the pension, check you'll have time to build your own retirement savings.

Example: splitting two pensions

Here's a made-up example with round numbers to show how sharing and offsetting compare. It isn't a recommendation for any real couple.

• Alex has a pension valued at £120,000.

• Sam has a pension valued at £20,000.

• Together, that's £140,000.

With pension sharing, they might agree to split the combined total equally, so £70,000 each. A pension sharing order would move £50,000 from Alex's pension into a new pension in Sam's name. Both then have £70,000, minus any provider fees.

With offsetting, Alex keeps the full £120,000 pension, and Sam gets a bigger share of the home or savings instead. But it's not a straight £50,000 swap. Sam's extra share is cash or property they can use now. Alex's pension can't be touched until minimum pension age, and most of it will be taxed when it's taken.

Working out a fair figure is hard. If you're not sure, MoneyHelper suggests paying for legal advice or mediation to help you reach a fair agreement.

How do you find out what a pension is worth?

Ask each pension provider for a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) for divorce or dissolution. This is the official figure the provider gives for what the pension is worth. MoneyHelper says it can take up to three months to arrive, and a court will accept it for up to one year after it's issued. You might pay a fee if you ask for more than one in 12 months, or if the pension is already paying out.

While you wait, you can get a rough idea by:

• logging in to your pension provider's website or app

• checking your latest pension statements

• tracking down any pensions from old jobs (our guide on how to consolidate pensions you've collected covers finding and combining them)

To help make sure your pensions are valued fairly, MoneyHelper suggests paying for a pension on divorce expert (PODE) to write a detailed report.

The State Pension is different. It usually can't be shared, unless you reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016. In that case, any Additional State Pension or protected payment might be split. You can ask for a State Pension valuation with the BR20 form on GOV.UK. Our guide to how the UK State Pension works covers the basics.

What happens with a pension sharing order, and what does it cost?

A pension sharing order is a court order that moves part of one pension into the other person's name. In England and Wales, it usually comes as part of a consent order. GOV.UK describes a consent order as a legal document that confirms your agreement about money and property.

Here's how it usually goes:

1. You both share full details of your finances, including pension values.

2. You agree how to split things, between you, with a mediator or with lawyers.

3. You check each pension provider is happy with the draft order.

4. You send the consent order to the court. The court can't approve it before your conditional order (or decree nisi), the first stage of the divorce.

5. The pension sharing order usually takes effect after your final order (or decree absolute), which legally ends the marriage or civil partnership.

6. You send the paperwork to the pension provider, which then has up to four months to make the changes.

GOV.UK says to ask for approval before your final order, because asking afterwards may have financial consequences, particularly for pensions.

If you can't agree and ask the court to decide, you'll usually need to go to a meeting about mediation first. There are exceptions, such as where there's domestic abuse. GOV.UK says the first court appointment is usually 12 to 14 weeks after you apply.

What it costs:

Court fees are for England and Wales. Solicitor, adviser and PODE fees are on top and vary. If you're on a low income or get certain benefits, you might get help paying court fees.

The part you receive is called a pension credit. MoneyHelper says you can usually take up to 25% of it as a tax-free lump sum. That's unless the pension is already paying an income, 25% has already been taken, or you've used up your lump sum allowance (£268,275 for most people).

Tax treatment depends on the individual circumstances of each client and may be subject to change in future.

Can an ex claim my pension years after the divorce?

It's possible if you never got a financial order. Advicenow explains that, in England and Wales, getting a divorce doesn't sort out your finances on its own. Without a final financial order, either of you could still apply to court about money in the future.

That's why it's worth making any agreement legally binding, even if you split things amicably. MoneyHelper says that in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, an agreement usually can't be enforced unless a court has approved it.

Once a pension sharing order is done, it's done. Advicenow notes it isn't affected if your ex dies or you remarry later. An attachment order is different, because payments can stop if the person receiving them remarries.

Do I need a solicitor or financial adviser to split a pension?

You don't always have to, but many people get some help. GOV.UK says you can get legal advice, or ask a solicitor or divorce specialist to draft a consent order for you. MoneyHelper says you usually need to pay a solicitor to help send your agreement to the court, and that valuing and splitting pensions can be complicated.

Your options, roughly from cheapest:

• Free MoneyHelper pensions and divorce appointment. A pension specialist calls you for up to 60 minutes and explains your options. It's guidance, not advice.

• A mediator. Usually much cheaper than legal advice. A mediator helps you both decide, but can't give advice or take sides.

• A solicitor. Explains your legal rights and can draft the consent order.

• A regulated financial adviser. Helps you understand what a split means for your retirement.

• A PODE. Values complicated pensions and suggests a fair way to split them.

If it isn't safe to deal with your ex directly, you can ask the court to decide instead.

Should married couples talk about pensions before anything goes wrong?

It helps. A Which? survey found just 3% of married couples had talked about what would happen to their pensions if they divorced, against 50% who had talked about what happens on death.

It doesn't have to be one big conversation. A few simple steps can make things clearer for both of you:

• Know roughly what each of you has, and where.

• Talk about how career breaks or part-time work affect each person's pension.

• Keep pension statements somewhere you can both find them.

• Check who you've named to receive your pension if you die.

That last one is easy to forget. MoneyHelper suggests updating your expression of wish form, and your will, after a divorce. Our guide on what happens to your pension when you die explains how these forms work.

After a split, it's worth checking where your retirement savings now stand. The flexible pension calculator can help you see what different monthly amounts might add up to.

Still got questions?

Do I have to split my pension if I get divorced? No. You don't have to share pensions, but they should be counted when you work out a fair split of everything you own.

Does this apply to civil partners? Yes. The same options apply when a civil partnership ends (called dissolution).

What if we weren't married? GOV.UK says the rules are different if you weren't married or in a civil partnership.

Is it different in Scotland? Yes. In Scotland, pension sharing uses a fixed amount, and usually only the part of a pension built up during the marriage or civil partnership counts. A pension sharing agreement can often be made binding without going to court, by registering it.

Can a pension abroad be shared? MoneyHelper says a pension based outside the UK can't be shared under a UK court order, but it can still be counted when working out a fair split.

How long does the pension provider take? Once it has all the paperwork and fees, it has four months to make the changes.