"The best performing pension could produce more than three times more pension income than the worst performing one. The really bad news is that your pension fund is more likely to be amongst the bad than the good" The Observer
Pension sharing has become increasingly used by divorce lawyers and the Courts to entitle a divorcing spouse to a share in the value of the other spouse’s pension benefits.
The potential advantages are that the order is determined, quantified and settled at the time of divorce enabling, then, the two former spouses to walk away from each other in this respect, following the much-sought-after ‘clean break’. But there are many pitfalls for the unwary which might lead to either (or sometimes both!) of the divorcing spouses losing far more benefit than the other gains. If procedures are not followed precisely up to the date of transfer of benefit to the non-member spouse these potential losses become very real indeed!
How to avoid the pitfalls and, instead, arrive at a settlement fair to both spouses?