Pensions and financial remedies following divorce or separation
In the past it has been recognised that unfairness in family law cases can result, when the division of pensions and financial settlements show a wide variation nationally.
This was attributed to poor understanding of how legal professionals should deal with the valuation, sharing or offsetting of pension fund assets.
The Pension Advisory Group (PAG) was set up to combat this issue and ensure fair treatment of pensions on divorce.
The PAG, a team of family legal experts, publishes essential guides to the treatment of pensions on divorce. Their report brings guidance to family judges, lawyers and pension experts encouraging fairer settlements and helping to manage liability.
Any practitioner or judge considering a pensions case should give consideration to the recommendations of the report published in July 2019 by the Pensions Advisory Group.
It is the the court’s duty to consider pension rights in respect to each person. This is even if the benefits are not likely to be received in the foreseeable future.