Knowledge and resources

A sneak preview of the new and updated edition of the invaluable guide

Family Practice Conference 2023

The cost-of-living crisis is multi-faceted and will affect the vast majority of divorces. IFAs working in tandem with solicitors can help clients prepare for an uncertain future

In Goodyear v Executors of the Estate of Heather Goodyear (deceased) [2022] EWFC 96, the court considered what should happen to a pension sharing order made in the wife’s favour, where the wife died six months after the order was made

With a busy life in practice, how many of us find the time to take in valuable insights from influential academic studies? When the opportunity to learn from Professor Debora Price presented itself, I was keen to see the knotty problem of pensions from a different perspective.

The rules around pension sharing orders are complex and fraught with risk…

Sarah Hoskinson, Partner at Burges Salmon and Philip Way, Partner at Mills & Reeve discuss the Pension Advisory Group report and latest developments.

The Pension Advisory Group won the John Cornwell award for its ground-breaking guide to what is often the second-largest and most-misunderstood asset on divorce. The Group has now published a version for the lay reader.

This recording sets out reflections on the Pensions Advisory Group (PAG) Report from Pensions on Divorce Experts - chaired by Suzanne Kingston - speakers are Ben Glassman and Mike Francis.

After a lengthy period in the authority desert, pensions on divorce continue to bask in the family law limelight.

When targeting equal pension division, should courts look to create equality of CEs or income? And are non-matrimonial pension rights to be excluded from pension sharing? This case also highlighted the importance of the Pensions Advisory Group report, and debunked the common interpretation of H v H.

Public Sector Pensions have changed over the years, meaning that we now have a number of different sections within each scheme. This can make it confusing when it comes to trying to negotiate a settlement for Pension Sharing.

For example, it is not always obvious at what age a pension credit will be paid and if there are a number of sections to a scheme, will one Annex share them all?

In this article, we take a closer look at the Unfunded Public Sector Schemes – these are the ones that do not have a pot of money behind them, so a Pension Sharing ex-spouse is offered internal membership, rather than an external transfer out.

The ability to benefit from an ex-spouse’s superior national insurance (NI) contribution history on divorce, at no cost to either party, is one of the least-understood areas of pensions on divorce. Yet it can literally be life-changing for lower earners, and it takes only a matter of minutes to explain to clients. This article for The Review explores the issues of this topic.

Clive Weir reports on the latest news regarding the reforms to public sector pensions.

The new 160-page guide to pensions on divorce is “a stiff read”, but given the expertise of its authors, it should be mandatory reading for family practitioners. Mark Penston reports on it for The Review.

When separating you may not be sure what the status of is of your and your partner's pension. This section looks at different scenarios.

On 6 April 2016, radical changes are to be made to the state pension of which practitioners must be aware.

The current state pension scheme (“the current scheme”) applies to those already claiming their state pension and those who will reach state pension age prior to 6 April 2016.

The Pensions Act 2014 introduces a new state pension scheme (“the new scheme”) for those who will reach state pension age on or after 6 April 2016 (ie men born on or after 6 April 1951 and women born on or after 6 April 1953).