Your State Pension after divorce is mostly yours alone, but a court can share certain parts of it, depending on when you reached State Pension age.

The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) names two parts of the State Pension that a court can share with a former husband, wife or civil partner: Additional State Pension and the protected payment. Which one, if either, applies to you turns on your date of birth and on when the divorce started. An FCA-authorised adviser can weigh any State Pension share against your other pensions; sending this page's form gets you a call-back at no charge.

Is the State Pension included in a divorce settlement?

It can be. DWP's valuation page says: "If you get divorced or dissolve your civil partnership, the court can consider if your State Pension, or part of it, is a financial asset, which can be shared in a financial settlement through the making of a pension sharing order." The key words are "or part of it". A court is not dividing your whole weekly pension.

The reason is how the State Pension is built. GOV.UK says the new State Pension "is usually based on your own National Insurance record", so there is no automatic claim on a former partner's record. MoneyHelper makes the same point about pensions generally: you do not have to share them when you separate, and you have no automatic right to part of an ex-partner's pension.

A pension settlement is the pensions part of the financial settlement: MoneyHelper says you'll normally need to decide how your pensions are split between you, and they do not always need to be shared equally. For how pensions of every kind are treated, see what happens to your pension if you divorce; this page sticks to the State Pension.

Which part of the State Pension can be split on divorce?

DWP's valuation form sets out what can be shared, and it depends on two dates: when you reached State Pension age and when the divorce or dissolution proceedings started.

Your positionThe part that could be shared
Your State Pension age came before 6 April 2016Additional State Pension
Your State Pension age is 6 April 2016 or later, and the proceedings began on or after that dateProtected payment
Your State Pension age is 6 April 2016 or later, but the proceedings began before that dateAdditional State Pension (a temporary rule for the change between the old and new systems)

The form describes Additional State Pension as "the amount paid on top of any basic State Pension and Graduated Retirement Benefit" and says it "is based on your earnings". The protected payment is the amount paid on top of the standard weekly rate of the new State Pension. GOV.UK explains that people who paid into the Additional State Pension before 2016, and would have received more under the old rules, get it on top of the full new State Pension rate. For how it works day to day, see the protected payment, the Additional State Pension and the new State Pension compared with the old.

MoneyHelper's divorce guide says the State Pension often cannot be split. That fits the table: only the extra amounts DWP names can be shared, and only when the dates line up. If you are unsure which row describes you, the valuation described next is how DWP settles it.

State Pension valuation for divorce: the BR20 form

The court needs to know what is on the table, so both people complete form BR20 (BR20NSP in its current edition). GOV.UK describes it this way: "Both parties of a divorce or dissolution should complete one of these forms to enable the court to decide on any State Pension to be shared." Each of you fills in your own copy, and DWP asks for details about you, your former or soon-to-be-former partner and the marriage.

DWP uses the Additional State Pension or protected payment to work out what it calls a Cash Equivalent Value, and sends it in a valuation letter. The form stresses the date the divorce or dissolution proceedings started (question 8), because that date decides which row of the table applies. The form's helpline is 0800 731 0175, which DWP says is free from personal mobiles and landlines.

This valuation is not the same thing as your State Pension forecast. The forecast, from GOV.UK's Check your State Pension forecast service, shows how much you could get and when; the forecast page covers it. The valuation is the figure prepared for the court. Provider pensions are valued differently, as described in how to get a pension valuation for divorce, and a specialist report may be worth having for a large case, see pension on divorce experts.

What a pension sharing order does to the payments

It moves money in both directions, depending on which side of the order you are. GOV.UK says: "You'll get an extra payment on top of your State Pension if your ex-partner is ordered to share their Additional State Pension or protected payment with you. Your State Pension will be reduced if you're ordered to share your Additional State Pension or protected payment with your partner."

DWP's form adds that any Additional State Pension or protected payment you receive "may go up or down depending on the decision of the court". The share is set by the court, or agreed between you and usually approved by one. The order itself is covered in what a pension sharing order is, and the court paperwork that goes with it in the pension sharing annex.

What a share would do to your retirement income, and when a former partner's extra payment would begin, can be explained at no cost by an adviser who rings after you enquire here.

Can I use my ex-spouse's National Insurance record?

Under the new State Pension, mostly not. It is based on your own record, and GOV.UK says that if you paid reduced rate National Insurance for married women, "you might be able to increase your new State Pension if you're eligible". That rests on your own past contributions, not on a former husband's record; the page on women and the State Pension goes further.

Under the old rules the position is different. GOV.UK says that if you are married or in a civil partnership and reached State Pension age before 6 April 2016, you may be able to raise your basic State Pension through your spouse or civil partner's National Insurance contributions, by up to £110.75 a week (the amount GOV.UK gives, read October 2026), if they get no basic State Pension or not the full amount, subject to conditions on the spouse's own State Pension age and record. It adds that you might qualify even if you were "widowed, divorced or had your civil partnership dissolved in the last 12 months", and that you need to contact the Pension Service if so. If you think you qualify but are not getting the increase, GOV.UK says to contact the Pension Service. How a divorce from longer ago could affect your own claim is something the adviser who rings back can explain without charge.

Inheriting is separate again. For extra State Pension a spouse built up by deferring, GOV.UK requires that you "were married or in the civil partnership when they died". More on that is in spouse entitlement and inheriting Additional State Pension. Whether you keep a right to a former partner's pension after divorce is a different question again, answered in survivor benefits after divorce.

State Pension and divorce in Scotland

The same form is used, with one extra question. DWP asks whether you are divorcing or dissolving your civil partnership under Scottish matrimonial law, and if so for the "relevant date", which it defines as whichever is earliest of the date you and your spouse or civil partner stopped living together or the date the summons for divorce or dissolution was served. For other pensions, MoneyHelper says that in Scotland the value counted depends on how long you were married or in a civil partnership; in its example, a pension held for 10 years with five of them married, only half the value will usually count. See pensions on divorce in Scotland.

More on State Pension and divorce

Do I lose my State Pension if I divorce?

Not as a whole. Your State Pension rests on your own National Insurance record, and the parts a court can share are Additional State Pension and the protected payment. If an order shares yours, GOV.UK says your State Pension "will be reduced".

Does the divorce date matter?

Yes. The date the proceedings started is a required answer on the valuation form, and 6 April 2016 is the line that decides which part could be shared for people reaching State Pension age on or after it.

Is there a State Pension and divorce calculator?

The figure that matters for the court is the Cash Equivalent Value DWP sends after you return form BR20. The forecast service shows what you could receive in retirement, which is a different question.

Can we agree about the State Pension between ourselves?

You can agree how pensions are split, but MoneyHelper says that if you can agree, "you'll usually need a court to approve your agreement to make it legally binding", except if you live in Scotland and choose a pension sharing order.

Where do I send the divorce form?

To the Pension Service at the Wolverhampton address printed on the form, once you and your partner have each filled in your own copy. Call 0800 731 0175 with questions.

Few settlements turn on the State Pension alone, and each pension you hold can be reviewed during a single chat with an FCA-authorised adviser, a free call requested through this page's form.

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