header-logo header-logo

The pension split

09 January 2026 / Joanna Newton
Issue: 8144 / Categories: Features , Family , Pensions , Divorce , Equality
printer mail-detail
239519
The humble pension sharing order is 25 years old: if you’re not celebrating, you should be, says Joanna Newton
  • A discussion of pension sharing orders (PSOs) and the role pensions play in financial remedy.
  • Explains why PSOs are underused, and highlights the importance of ensuring clients understand their short, medium and long-term financial considerations.

Twenty-five years of pension sharing orders (PSOs) is unlikely to be marked on many calendars. Nevertheless, the recent anniversary of the first order to be issued should not go unnoticed, primarily as an opportunity to highlight their value in ensuring long-term financial security for divorcees.

What are PSOs?

Pension sharing orders are sub-orders made within a financial consent order as part of financial remedy proceedings upon divorce. They essentially do what they say on the tin: they enable the sharing of a portion of one party’s pension with the other party to ensure a fair split of the matrimonial assets upon divorce.

PSOs will identify how much pension is to be transferred to the receiving

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Carey Olsen—Kim Paiva

Group partner joins Guernsey banking and finance practice

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

Morgan Lewis—Kat Gibson

London labour and employment team announces partner hire

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Foot Anstey McKees—Chris Milligan & Michael Kelly

Double partner appointment marks Belfast expansion

NEWS
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has not done enough to protect the future sustainability of the legal aid market, MPs have warned
Writing in NLJ this week, NLJ columnist Dominic Regan surveys a landscape marked by leapfrog appeals, costs skirmishes and notable retirements. With an appeal in Mazur due to be heard next month, Regan notes that uncertainties remain over who will intervene, and hopes for the involvement of the Lady Chief Justice and the Master of the Rolls in deciding the all-important outcome
After the Southport murders and the misinformation that followed, contempt of court law has come under intense scrutiny. In this week's NLJ, Lawrence McNamara and Lauren Schaefer of the Law Commission unpack proposals aimed at restoring clarity without sacrificing fair trial rights
The latest Home Office figures confirm that stop and search remains both controversial and diminished. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Parpworth of De Montfort University analyses data showing historically low use of s 1 PACE powers, with drugs searches dominating what remains
Boris Johnson’s 2019 attempt to shut down Parliament remains a constitutional cautionary tale. The move, framed as a routine exercise of the royal prerogative, was in truth an extraordinary effort to sideline Parliament at the height of the Brexit crisis. Writing in NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC dissects how prorogation was wrongly assumed to be beyond judicial scrutiny, only for the Supreme Court to intervene unanimously
back-to-top-scroll