Married couples have been encouraged to consider their retirement savings if going through a divorce, after research from Hargreaves Lansdown found that over a quarter (27 per cent) of people could not cope in retirement without their partner’s pension.

Today (9 January) is the first working Monday of the new year and often known as ‘Divorce Day’, as this is typically the day when enquiries about splitting up peak following the festive season.

Hargreaves Lansdown noted that, amid the pensions gender gap, women were more likely to be reliant on their partner’s retirement savings than men.

The consultancy warned that if divorce happens close to retirement age, this can leave very little time for the person affected to build up a meaningful pension in their own right.

Money conversations when going through a divorce tend to focus on assets such as the family home, Hargreaves Lansdown added.

However, it warned that it was important that more long-term assets, such as pensions, were also discussed.

“Care needs to be taken to ensure that all aspects of a couple’s finances are discussed as part of a divorce settlement,” commented Hargreaves Lansdown senior pensions and retirement analyst, Helen Morrissey.

“Assets such as the family home tend to be prioritised at the expense of pensions and this can leave one partner, usually the woman, severely financially disadvantaged.

“In recent Hargreaves Lansdown research, over one quarter (27 per cent) of people said they couldn’t cope in retirement without their partner’s pension, with women likely to be more affected by men.

“The options for pension sharing are numerous – the pension can be split between partners on divorce or offset against another asset such as the family home.

“Alternatively, your partner can pay you an income from the pension once they reach retirement, though admittedly this may not be the best option if you are looking for a clean break.

“If you have adequate pension provision of your own, then you may not need part of your partner’s pension but making it part of the divorce discussion means you are less likely to receive a nasty surprise further down the line.”

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