Post-Divorce: The Future Need not be Bleak

Research conducted by pension provider Scottish Widows show that women are becoming more and more clued up about saving for retirement and making sure that they have some sort of pension in place, with 52% saving adequately for retirement compared to 41% ten years ago.

In this day and age, women live complex lives with many trail blazing through their careers whilst juggling bringing up children and maintaining the family home. However, Scottish Widows reported 51% of non-working, 30-something women are caring for children and therefore the stark reality, despite the figures, is there are still a large number of women who give up work to bring up their children or stall their careers whilst their children are growing up.

What does this mean? It means that despite legislative developments, changing perceptions of gender roles, work and childcare; women are still lagging behind men when planning for their future. Whilst women are taking time out of their careers, men can still plough into their pension funds and save for the day that they retire. That is all well and good if a couple stay married upon retirement and the wife can rely upon the husband’s pension income. However, with 42% of marriages ending in divorce at the moment, many women are facing a retirement where they live off the bare minimum whilst their ex-husband has a healthy income on retirement and the lifestyle to match. Now that is not fair!

Going through a divorce is a difficult time and it can take a lot out of you, emotionally, physically and not to mention financially. During this tumultuous time, it is easy just to nod and agree with your solicitor when they tell you what they think you are entitled to from the divorce settlement.

The reality is that pensions are a complex area and it is unfortunate, but not uncommon, that many solicitors fail to understand their complexities when advising on what is a “fair” settlement. The mistakes I see time and time again when looking into divorce settlements are where the solicitor has accepted the face value of a public sector pension or split the total pension pot rather than the retirement income. Some have neglected to look into the pension position altogether!

Whilst your divorce may well be long done and dusted, if your solicitor has made a mistake then you are entitled to claim against them for what you should have got had they done their job properly. If your divorce was after 2003 and you would like me to review your settlement, then contact me today on 0800 612 5069. There is no contact with your ex-husband at all and, unlike your divorce proceedings, the service which we offer is on an entirely “no win, no fee” basis so whatever happens, you will not be worse off for seeking our advice. There is nothing to lose and, perhaps, a great deal to gain…

 May Lee
Associate, Irvings Law