Can I share my spouse's pension on divorce, even if we had a short marriage?

When you divorce your spouse, you will have claims in respect of one another’s income, capital and pensions.  The court will consider each category in isolation and will strive to reach a fair division of the assets between the two parties. To achieve a fair division, the court will consider the factors set out in section 25 of the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973.

One of the section 25 factors is the length of the marriage. This means that if the marriage was short, the court will take this into account when making decisions as to fairness.  If there was seamless cohabitation prior to marriage, this period will be treated as being part of the marriage length.

It would generally be expected that the pensions built up during the marriage, even if short, would be shared equally.  However, in terms of pensions that were accrued either pre- or post- the relationship, guidance from the Pensions Advisory Group (PAG) advises that invading the non-matrimonial pensions in a short marriage would need to be justified, rather than the norm. It would be expected that the person seeking to invade the non-matrimonial pensions that were built up outside the relationship must show a reason as to why there is a “relationship generated need” to share the non-matrimonial pensions.

If the pensions built up during the short marriage are not significantly high in value, the spouses may consider offsetting the pension claims with capital assets as opposed to sharing, if the costs associated with implementing the pension sharing may be disproportionate to the amount of pension credit being transferred.

You should take independent legal and financial advice before you agree to a pension sharing order or financial settlement upon divorce generally, to ensure that the terms of the financial agreement are fair in the circumstances of your case.

If you require any further assistance, or wish to book in for an initial consultation to discuss your situation, our family solicitors are based in both Wolverhampton, Cradley Heath and Sutton Coldfield serve clients across the West Midlands. For all new enquiries, please call 01902 328 355 or complete our online enquiry form and a member of our team will respond.