The Gender Pension Gap and the Importance of Pension Sharing Orders on Divorce

Why the Gender Pension Gap Matters

The gender pension gap is the difference between how much men and women have saved for retirement – and it’s big. Think of it as the pay gap’s older, more damaging sibling. By the time women reach retirement, the financial hit from years of lower pay, part‑time work, and caring responsibilities really shows.

According to a report by the Trades Union Congress:

Women in the UK retire with about 35% less pension wealth than men.

• That’s roughly £7,600 less income every year in retirement.
• Divorced women fare even worse, retiring with £50,000 less in pension savings than divorced men.

This isn’t about poor planning, it’s the result of a lifetime of structural inequality.

Divorce Makes the Gap Even Wider

When couples split, pensions are often the biggest asset after the family home, but they’re also the most ignored.

Many people focus on the house, savings, or who keeps the car. Meanwhile, the pension (which could be worth hundreds of thousands of pounds) gets left untouched. The result? Women walk away with far less long‑term financial security.

Why Pension Sharing Orders Are So Important

A pension sharing order is a legal tool that allows pensions to be divided fairly during divorce. It recognises that both partners contributed to the marriage, even if only one paid into a pension to a significant degree.

What a pension sharing order does:

• Gives each person their own pension pot for the future.
• Helps close the gender pension gap created during the marriage.
• Protects women who took time out for childcare or worked part‑
• Ensures long‑term financial stability, not just short‑term fairness.

Without one, many women end up relying solely on the state pension, which is nowhere near enough to live comfortably.

How a Family Law Solicitor Helps Close the Pension Gap

As pensions are often the largest asset after the family home, a solicitor’s intervention can be the difference between a secure retirement and a serious financial shortfall.

What a solicitor does:

• Identifies all pensions early – including workplace schemes, private pensions, and valuable defined benefit schemes.
• Ensures full disclosure – many people underestimate or simply don’t know the value of their pension. Solicitors make sure everything is on the table.
• Gets expert valuations – they can instruct a pension actuary to calculate the true value of each pension and what share is needed to achieve fairness.
• Advises on the right type of order – pension sharing, pension attachment, or offsetting, and explains the long‑term consequences of each.
• Negotiates a fair split – ensuring that years spent raising children or working part‑time are properly recognised.
• Drafts the pension sharing order – a legally binding document required by the pension provider before any split can happen.
• This is how the pension gap starts to close: by making sure the pension is treated as a marital asset, not an afterthought.

The Bottom Line

Ignoring pensions during divorce is one of the most expensive mistakes people make. A pension sharing order isn’t just a legal formality, it’s a lifeline that can prevent poverty in later life and help level the playing field for women.

It is always best to get advice early if you have questions regarding your pension during divorce, contact our team here, or call us on 0333 344 6302