A report made by Age Uk has claimed that a number of women in retirement who are divorced are losing out on a vast amount of money and assets. Unless a divorce is taken to court, it is not a requirement to know a spouses pension value, and therefore married couples do not have to include pension assets in a divorce agreement.
Pensions are often left out of settlements resulting in one partner missing out on future income that they could have been potentially entitled to. Usually, it’s the women that face this consequence.
Many women who have children (or older relatives) have taken time from work in order to care for them. Consequently, 40% of women aged 55 to 70 heavily depend on their partners income for an enjoyable and relaxed retirement.
A vast amount of men and women manage their finances together, and 68% actually combine their money together.
Quote from Nigel Holland:
“Due to pension assets not being required in the divorce agreement, there are so many women missing out on sums of money they could have been entitled to.
In order to fix this, the government should come up with a theory of making this an automatic part of the divorce process from which the couple can opt out of if they wish to do so.”