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Six years after his online divorce, a man’s ex-wife wrote asking for half his workplace pension. He called us that afternoon: can my ex-wife claim my pension when we divorced so long ago?
A letter six years after the divorce
Their marriage had lasted about twelve years, and they had a son, now grown up. When they separated, they sold the house and shared the money by agreement. Nobody mentioned pensions, and neither of them asked a court for a financial order.
He had kept paying into his pension at work ever since. His former wife had worked part time while their son was small, so her own pension was modest. Now his ex-wife said she was entitled to half his pension, including the six years since they parted.
Can my ex-wife claim my pension years after a divorce?
Usually, yes, if no court order has dealt with it. The final order, or decree absolute in older cases, ends the marriage but leaves the money claims open. Section 24B(1) of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 lets the court make a pension sharing order at the time of the divorce order or at any later date.
Half is not automatic. Under section 25, the court weighs all the circumstances, such as each spouse’s needs and resources, the length of the marriage and what each contributed, including caring for the family. Section 25B confirms that pensions count. A pension sharing order states a percentage under section 21A. Section 29 of the Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 then gives the former spouse a pension credit.
The court must also consider a clean break under section 25A(1): whether their financial ties should end as soon as is just and reasonable. So his ex-wife could claim his pension, but half was far from certain.
Was his ex-wife entitled to half his pension?
Our first advice was not to reply in anger or agree anything by text. A court cannot enforce an informal deal. Waiting would also cost him. The share would bite on the pension’s value on a valuation day after the order, while he kept paying in.
Next, we helped him gather the facts. He asked his scheme for a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV). His old annual statements showed how far the fund had grown since they separated.
Those figures shaped his offer: he had built a good part of the fund after they parted. His ex-wife was entitled to have her needs weighed too, because she had cared for their son and had little pension of her own. A judge must think a consent order fair, so we advised an offer likely to meet that test.
We helped him word a calm reply offering a share well below half, with a clean break on both sides.
The outcome: a pension share and a clean break
After two rounds of offers, they agreed a pension share still well under half. Under rule 9.32, he asked his scheme for the Section C details of the Pension Inquiry Form and sent her a copy. We checked his wording as he prepared the consent order and the pension sharing annex on Form P1 that rule 9.35 requires. Each completed a statement of information on Form D81, and he sent the papers to the court with Form A.
A judge approved the order without a hearing. It shares his pension and dismisses every other claim between them for income, capital and pensions. At the request of both, it also bars claims against each other’s estate under section 15 of the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975. Once the order took effect and the scheme held the papers it needed, it had four months to put the share in place.
His ex-wife now has a pension of her own, and she cannot claim his pension again. Your figures will differ; this shows one way such a claim can end.
If your ex-wife wants to claim your pension
Start with the paperwork. Check your divorce papers for a financial order; the final order alone does not end her claims. Ask your scheme for a CETV now, because it can take up to three months, and keep every annual statement. Keep her letter and every message, unchanged. Put no deal in writing until you have taken advice, and keep the dispute off social media.
If your ex-wife applies to the court on Form A, expect the first appointment 12 to 16 weeks after she files. Each of you must exchange and file Form E, your financial statement, 35 days or more before that date. If you settle, ask for a consent order with a clean break.
Our guides explain how a pension is valued on divorce, what a clean break order ends and how a financial consent order works. Our method page explains how we prepare and anonymise these accounts.
“A pension share is set as a percentage, so work out what that percentage means in pounds before you agree it. A cash equivalent transfer value does not always show the full value of a pension, especially a final salary scheme, so ask whether a pension expert’s report is needed. Your ex’s pension counts too, so look at both. Then make sure the agreement becomes a court order with a clean break.”
Garry Steedman, Family Law Consultant (Divorce, Children & TOLATA), Kabir Family Law
Before you answer her letter
Has your ex-wife written to claim part of your pension? Our family law specialists can explain where you stand. Your first consultation costs nothing, stays confidential and carries no obligation. Bring her letter and your latest pension statement.
The legal issue
A man had divorced online six years earlier. The couple had one son, now an adult, from a marriage of about twelve years. When they separated they sold the house and shared the money by agreement, but neither of them ever asked a court for a financial order. Since then he had kept paying into his workplace pension. His former wife, who had worked part time while their son was young and had a small pension of her own, wrote to say she was entitled to half of his pension, including the six years since they parted. He had believed the divorce ended every claim between them.
The law this rests on
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s.24B(1): on making a divorce order or at any time after making it, the court may, on an application, make one or more pension sharing orders.
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s.23(1): on making a divorce order or at any time after making it, the court may order maintenance (periodical payments) and lump sums.
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s.25(1) and (2): the court must have regard to all the circumstances of the case and in particular to each party's income, earning capacity and other resources, their needs, their ages, the duration of the marriage and the contributions each has made to the welfare of the family, including looking after the home or caring for the family.
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s.25B(1): those matters include any benefits under a pension arrangement which a party has or is likely to have.
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s.21A(1): a pension sharing order makes one party's shareable rights under a specified pension arrangement subject to pension sharing for the benefit of the other party, and specifies the percentage value to be transferred.
- Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s.25A(1): the court must consider whether the financial obligations of each party towards the other should end as soon after the order as it considers just and reasonable. s.25A(3): when dismissing a maintenance application, the court may direct that the applicant may not apply for maintenance again in relation to that marriage.
- Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 s.29(1), (2) and (7): the member's shareable rights become subject to a debit and the former spouse becomes entitled to a credit of the same amount. Where the order specifies a percentage, the amount is that percentage of the cash equivalent of the relevant benefits on the valuation day, a day within the implementation period chosen by the person responsible for the arrangement.
- Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 s.33(1) and s.34(1): the scheme must put the share in place within the implementation period, which is four months, beginning with the later of the day the order takes effect and the first day the person responsible for the arrangement has the order, the divorce order and the prescribed information.
- Pensions on Divorce etc. (Provision of Information) Regulations 2000 reg 2(1)(a), (2) and (5)(a): when a member asks for a valuation of the pension rights, the scheme must provide it within 3 months of receiving the request, unless a shorter limit applies.
- Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 s.15(1): on making a divorce order or at any time after, the court may, if it considers it just and on the application of either party, order that the other party may not apply for provision from the applicant's estate under section 2.
- Family Procedure Rules r.9.4: an application for a financial order may be made in the divorce application or at any time after it has been made.
- Family Procedure Rules r.9.12(1)(a): when an application is issued, the court fixes a first appointment not less than 12 and not more than 16 weeks after the application is filed.
- Family Procedure Rules r.9.14(1): not less than 35 days before the first appointment, both parties must exchange and file a financial statement.
- Family Procedure Rules r.9.26(1) and (4): on an application for a consent order, the applicant files two copies of the order in the terms sought, one endorsed with the respondent's signed agreement, and each party files and serves a statement of information; unless the court directs otherwise, the parties need not attend the hearing.
- Family Procedure Rules r.9.32: where agreed terms include a pension sharing order and the scheme has not been served with the application, the party with pension rights must request the information in Section C of the Pension Inquiry Form and send a copy to the other party.
- Family Procedure Rules r.9.35: an order that includes a pension sharing order must say so in its body and be accompanied by a pension sharing annex, one for each pension arrangement.
- GOV.UK: Form A gives notice of an application for a financial order; Form D81 is the statement of information for a consent order; Form P1 is the pension sharing annex. A judge approves a consent order if they think it is fair, and a court cannot enforce an agreement that is not legally binding.
How we approached it
We advised him not to reply in anger and not to agree anything by text or email, because an informal agreement cannot be enforced. We explained that delay would cost him: a pension share is a percentage of the pension's cash value on a valuation day after the order, so every year of contributions would add to what the same percentage took.
We helped him ask his scheme for a cash equivalent transfer value (CETV), and his old annual statements showed how far the fund had grown since they separated.
We advised him that a judge weighs everything in the case, including how much of the fund he had built after they parted, her needs and her care of their son, and that a judge must think a consent order fair before approving it. We helped him word a calm reply offering a pension share well below half, with each of them giving up every other claim, and set out the figures behind it. After two rounds of offers they agreed a percentage. As the member, he then asked his scheme for the information in Section C of the Pension Inquiry Form and sent her a copy, as Family Procedure Rules r.9.32 requires. We checked his wording as he prepared the consent order and its pension sharing annex on Form P1. Each of them completed a statement of information on Form D81, and he sent the papers to the court with Form A.
The outcome
After two rounds of offers the couple agreed a pension share still well under the half she first asked for. A judge approved the consent order without a hearing. It shares his pension by the agreed percentage and dismisses all their other claims against each other, for income, capital and pensions. At the request of both, it also bars each of them from claiming against the other's estate under the Inheritance (Provision for Family and Dependants) Act 1975 s.15. Once the order took effect and the scheme held the order and the other papers it needed, it had four months to put the share in place (Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 s.34). His former wife has a pension in her own name, and neither of them can bring a further claim against the other. Another family's figures and history will differ, so this shows one way such a claim can end.
What to take from this
- A divorce ends the marriage, but the money claims can stay open until a court order deals with them. Under the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973 s.24B(1), a pension sharing order can be made at any time after the divorce order.
- Half is not automatic. The court considers all the circumstances under s.25, and pensions count as resources under s.25B.
- Delay can cost the member: a pension share is a percentage of the pension's cash value on a valuation day after the order (Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 s.29).
- This week, find your divorce papers and check whether a financial order was ever made. Ask your scheme for a CETV now, because it can take up to three months, and keep every annual statement, especially the one nearest your separation.
- Keep the original letter and every message; delete or change nothing. Do not sign or email any deal before you have taken advice, and keep the dispute off social media.
- If your former spouse goes to court on Form A, the first appointment is fixed for 12 to 16 weeks after she files, and each of you must exchange and file a Form E financial statement 35 days or more before it (Family Procedure Rules r.9.12 and r.9.14). Put every date in your diary.
- If you reach agreement, record it in a consent order with a clean break and, if it shares a pension, a pension sharing annex on Form P1 (r.9.35). A court cannot enforce an agreement that is not legally binding.
Checked and approved for publication by Hannah Overton.
Last reviewed .
