Yes. Under UK law, pensions are considered part of the “matrimonial assets” if they were built up during the marriage or civil partnership.

They are treated like:

• Property
• Savings
• Investments

Even if the pension is not yet being paid, it still has value and can be divided.

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⚖️ How can a pension be shared?

There are 3 main ways the court (or agreement) can deal with pensions:

1. Pension sharing order (most common)

• A percentage of one person’s pension is transferred to the other
• The receiving spouse gets their own separate pension pot
• This is a clean break financially

2. Pension offsetting

• One spouse keeps their pension
• The other keeps more of another asset (e.g. house or cash)
• Example: “You keep your pension, I keep the equity in the home”

3. Pension attachment order (less common)

• The ex-spouse gets payments when the pension is paid out
• This depends on the original holder still being alive and drawing the pension

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📊 What does the court consider?

Courts aim for fairness, not automatic 50/50. They consider:

• Length of the marriage
• Contributions (financial and non-financial)
• Age and health of both parties
• Future income needs
• Standard of living during marriage
• Other assets available

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🧓 Important point about pensions

Even if:

• The pension was built mainly by one spouse
• Or only one person worked

👉 The other spouse may still have a claim if it was built during the marriage.

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🚨 Key misconception

A pension is not automatically “untouchable” in divorce. In many cases, it is one of the largest assets divided.

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