header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
18 September 2019 / Grania Langdon-Down
Issue: 7856 / Categories: Features , Divorce , Pensions , Family
printer mail-detail

The pension split: unfair shares?

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.
Focusing on the short-term financial needs of clients on divorce can often be to the detriment of their longer-term financial security—but are family lawyers prepared to engineer the drive towards fairness & a pension sharing revolution? Grania Langdon-Down reports

The ‘elephant traps’ surrounding pensions on divorce could see a tidal swell of negligence cases against family lawyers unless they get to grips with the true value of a couple’s pensions, warns James Copson, co-author of a good practice guide.

Research for the ‘Guide to the Treatment of Pensions on Divorce’, published this summer by the Pensions Advisory Group (PAG), found that, of the 369 court files studied, 80% revealed at least one relevant pension and yet only 14% contained a pension order.

Concerns around pension advice has clearly struck a chord with family lawyers, with more than 170 solicitors, barristers, and legal executives responding to a LexisNexis/Mathieson Consulting survey on engaging pension experts in financial settlements.

Half of those responding are highly experienced with 15 years-plus PQE and nearly two thirds spend 75%

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Property cases reshape established principles
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
NLJ this week: Stress ruling raises the bar for employers
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
NLJ this week: Can Manchesterism revive access to justice?
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
NLJ this week: Constitutional conventions tested as power changes hands
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
NLJ this week: Lawyers must become product designers
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll