In this guide

This guide is for financial advisers only. It must not be distributed to, or relied on by, customers. The information on this page is based on our understanding of legislation as at 6 April 2024.

Pension sharing allows a member’s pension savings to be split at the point of divorce or annulment of a marriage or, for civil partnerships, on dissolution or annulment. In this article, to keep things simple, we’ll use ‘divorce’ to cover each of these.

It allows for the physical split of a member’s pension entitlement so that part, or all, of it is transferred to their ex-spouse’s or ex-civil partner’s pension arrangement. Therefore, it’s said to allow a ‘clean break’ to be achieved at the point of divorce. The reduction in the member’s benefits is known as a ‘pension debit’, and the amount allocated to the ex-spouse or ex-civil partner is known as a ‘pension credit’. ​The ex-spouse or ex-civil partner will often transfer the pension credit to a new or existing pension arrangement but, if the fund being shared is held within an occupational pension scheme, the pension credit can, if the scheme rules allow, be left in the scheme. The ex-spouse/civil partner effectively becomes a member of the occupational pension scheme in relation to their share of the pension fund.

When dealing with pension sharing orders, a pension provider or scheme trustees may have to correspond with the member and their ex-spouse or ex-civil partner plus the solicitors and financial advisers for both parties.