The Pension Sharing Order – A Cautionary Tale

The recent case of AP v TP (Pension Enforcement) [2025] demonstrates the need to ensure that even after the court have approved a financial consent order concerning pensions after divorce and have made a pension sharing order, it is important that the necessary steps are put in place with the pension provider for that order to be implemented. Without this, the order cannot be put into effect and the court has the power to return the whole pension to the original pension owner, despite the original agreement or order so beware!

In this case, the husband and wife entered into a legal binding agreement known as a ‘Consent Order’ where they agreed that the family home would be sold and that the wife should have a pension sharing order over the husband’s pension.

What is a Pension Sharing Order?

A Pension Sharing Order (PSO) is a court order telling a pension provider how to divide someone’s pension between spouses.

In the case however, after the court signed the order, the wife did not take the necessary steps to activate the pension split. Despite repeated reminders from the husband’s lawyers, and even prior court deadlines, the wife remained uncooperative.

In this case the judge ruled that, the wife’s refusal to put the PSO into effect was not just a delay — it was an obstruction.  Further, the judge concluded that because of wife’s conduct and the husband’s worsening health and age, it was unfair to continue enforcing the pension split as originally ordered.  In this case, the court therefore set aside the Pension Sharing Order meaning it was cancelled and made an order that the wife should pay some of the husband’s legal costs which were necessary in bringing the case back to court.

This is a strong reminder that you cannot ignore a court order, especially about money or pensions. Delaying or refusing to act can lead to the order being cancelled and potentially losing benefits to which you are.

Pensions aren’t like houses or bank accounts that can be used today; they protect your income in retirement.  If you do not trigger your pension order, it will disrupt your retirement planning. In this case, the husband who was around 70 years old and had health issues, and couldn’t retire as planned because the pension share was stuck.

This highlights that delays in implementing orders can have very real impacts on people’s quality of life.

At Blanchards Family Law we work with pension experts to assist our clients in understanding their rights and options concerning pensions, along with their other  assets as part of a financial settlement on divorce.  Pension sharing is technical, and mistakes and delays are costly.  We advise you to follow court orders promptly and think about your pension rights as they can protect and fund you in your retirement.

If you would like to speak with a member of the team about this topic, please contact us here