Pension sharing orders explained: how pension sharing works

A pension sharing order is a court order that splits a pension on divorce or dissolution, so your ex-partner gets a pension credit of their own.

In practice the order takes part of one person's pension value and turns it into a pension for the other, either inside the same scheme or in a pension elsewhere. Whether sharing is the right split depends on both pensions, both ages and everything else being divided, and an FCA-authorised adviser can help you weigh the lot. Request a free call-back with the brief form on this page. A solicitor deals with the order itself.

What is a pension sharing order?

The definition for England and Wales is in the Matrimonial Causes Act 1973. Under section 21A, a pension sharing order makes one party's shareable rights under a specified pension arrangement (or their shareable state scheme rights) subject to pension sharing for the other party's benefit, and it states the percentage value to be transferred. On making a divorce or nullity of marriage order, or at any time afterwards, the court may "make one or more pension sharing orders in relation to the marriage" (section 24B), and no such order takes effect until the divorce or nullity order has been made final.

In England and Wales, civil partners have the same machinery. The Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999 lists "a pension sharing order under Schedule 5 to the Civil Partnership Act 2004" among the orders that trigger it (section 28).

Which pensions can be shared? Section 27 of the 1999 Act says: "Pension sharing is available under this Chapter in relation to a person’s shareable rights under any pension arrangement other than an excepted public service pension scheme." The State Pension is handled under a separate chapter of the same Act: see your State Pension after divorce.

No pension is divided automatically. In England and Wales, GOV.UK explains that a couple who agree put the terms in a consent order for a court to approve; otherwise the court decides how assets are split. Scotland has its own routes, set out further down. Once each person holds a separate part, MoneyHelper calls the result a clean break. The application itself is covered in how to get a pension sharing order, and the Acts behind it in pension sharing order legislation.

How a pension debit and a pension credit work

Section 29 of the 1999 Act does two things the moment the order takes effect. The member whose pension is being shared (the Act's "transferor") has a debit of the appropriate amount applied to their shareable rights in that arrangement, and the ex-partner (the "transferee") becomes entitled to a credit of the same amount against whoever runs the arrangement. One person's pension shrinks; the other gains a claim of equal size.

The amount depends on the wording of the order, and section 29 allows for two kinds. If it names a percentage, as section 21A requires of an order made in England and Wales, the scheme applies that percentage to the cash equivalent of the benefits being shared, worked out on the valuation day. If it names a sum of money, the credit is that sum or the cash equivalent on the valuation day, whichever is lower. The scheme picks the valuation day itself, somewhere within its implementation period, and tells both people in writing, so the figure used can differ from a valuation produced earlier in the divorce. MoneyHelper says Scottish orders use a fixed amount (see the Scotland section).

Section 31 then cuts the member's own benefits. Every qualifying benefit, meaning one counted in the cash equivalent used to fix the debit, "is reduced by the appropriate percentage", with a parallel rule for members still building up benefits in an occupational scheme. Where a scheme rule conflicts, section 31 wins.

For the ex-partner, the credit is a claim against the scheme rather than money paid out. The scheme settles it by giving them pension rights, either in the same scheme or in another arrangement, as the next sections explain. Whether tax-free cash can come from those rights depends on the kind of pension credit: see tax-free cash from a pension sharing order.

Where the CETV fits into a pension sharing order

Because section 29 works from the cash equivalent, the CETV (cash equivalent transfer value) is the number the whole order turns on. For a member still in pensionable service in an occupational scheme, the Act values the benefits as though that service had ended immediately before the day the order takes effect.

MoneyHelper's advice is to ask every provider for a CETV "for divorce or dissolution purposes". It says one may take as long as three months to come through and that it stays usable in court for up to a year once issued; a second request within 12 months, or one about a pension already paying out, may carry a fee. Providers might also use different calculations, it warns, which makes comparing pensions with the house or savings harder. The request is explained in getting a pension valued for divorce.

How a transfer value would translate into retirement income depends on the scheme and on your other savings. Use the form here to arrange a call, and an adviser will go through it with you at no cost.

Internal or external transfer: where does the pension credit go?

Schedule 5 to the 1999 Act sets out how a scheme turns the credit into pension rights for the ex-partner. People usually call the two routes an internal transfer and an external transfer. Those are everyday labels, not the Act's words: it speaks of conferring rights under the same scheme, and of paying the credit to another ("qualifying") arrangement.

For a funded occupational scheme or a personal pension scheme, the trustees or managers can settle the credit "by conferring appropriate rights under that scheme on the person entitled to the credit", with that person's consent or as regulations allow. Consent only counts if it was given after the person received written notice of an offer to pay the credit to another arrangement instead, or if it was not withdrawn within 7 days of that notice.

Paying the credit out is allowed only where the receiving arrangement "is not disqualified as a destination for the credit", whoever runs it is "able and willing to accept payment", and the person entitled consents or regulations permit it. Qualifying arrangements include occupational and personal pension schemes.

Unfunded public service schemes work differently: the Schedule provides for rights in that scheme or, where it is closed to new members, in an alternative public service scheme named by regulations. The NHS, teachers' and armed forces pensions have guides of their own.

Where the credit is met with rights in the scheme itself, those rights must start from the day the order takes effect and match the credit in value. MoneyHelper notes that keeping the credit with the same provider is possible only "if their rules allow it", and points anyone needing a new pension to its guide on starting one.

Under section 34 the scheme has an implementation period of 4 months to complete all this; when that clock starts is in the questions below and in the pension sharing order timeline. Staying or moving can change the charges, the benefits on offer and the income that follows. To weigh that choice alongside your other retirement savings, book a phone call with an adviser using the short form here.

Sharing compared with offsetting and earmarking

MoneyHelper sets out three ways to split pensions and says couples can usually combine them. For the ex-partner, what matters is what they end up holding.

• Sharing leaves them with a pension in their own name, with rights running from the day the order takes effect. If the pension is already being paid, see sharing a pension in payment.
• Earmarking (attachment) gives them a promised share of someone else's pension, paid only when the member draws it. MoneyHelper warns that it may pay nothing, and that it will typically end if the ex-partner remarries or either of them dies, unless death benefits are included. The two orders are compared in pension sharing vs earmarking.
• Offsetting gives them no pension at all, but a bigger share of other assets such as the home or savings. The member keeps the pension and, MoneyHelper points out, may wait years before drawing it and then pay Income Tax on it. See what pension offsetting is and the hub guide, what happens to your pension on divorce.

Pension sharing orders in Scotland

In Scotland the order comes from the Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985, which lists a pension sharing order among the orders either spouse or civil partner can ask the court for (section 8); the 1999 Act's debit and credit rules then apply. Several things change for the order itself. Under section 10, only the proportion of a pension referable to the time between the marriage (or partnership) and the relevant date counts as matrimonial property; that date is the earlier of the day the couple stopped living together and the day the divorce or dissolution summons was served. MoneyHelper's example is a pension held for 10 years through a five-year marriage, where usually only half the value counts. MoneyHelper says the order states a fixed amount, which section 29 caps at the cash equivalent on the valuation day. A separate court order is not always needed: MoneyHelper says an agreement can often be finalised by adding a written copy to the Register of Deeds as a qualifying agreement, and section 28 of the 1999 Act brings such an agreement within the sharing rules where it is in the prescribed form, was entered into in prescribed circumstances and is registered in the Books of Council and Session; it takes effect when decree of divorce or dissolution (or declarator of nullity) is granted. Earmarking takes the form of a pension lump sum order under section 12A of the 1985 Act, and the same guide says it can only cover lump sums.

Timing is stricter as well. Under section 28, a Scottish order or registered agreement is treated as if it had never taken effect unless the scheme receives copies of the documents and the prescribed information within 2 months beginning with the date on which the decree (or declarator) of divorce, dissolution or annulment was extracted. The Court of Session or the sheriff can extend that period on an application by anyone with an interest. Fuller detail is in the Scotland and Northern Ireland divorce guide, and a Scottish solicitor can say which route fits your case.

What the pension scheme can charge to carry out the order

Section 41 of the 1999 Act allows regulations letting a scheme recover "prescribed charges" from the couple, and the Pensions on Divorce etc. (Charging) Regulations 2000 set the terms. Under regulation 2, a scheme cannot recover its pension sharing charges unless, before the order is made, it has told the member or the member's spouse or civil partner in writing that it intends to, and sent a written schedule of charges; for the sharing work itself, that schedule gives a single estimate, a range of estimates or a breakdown. Subject to exceptions in regulation 9(3) and (4), it may recover only what reflects reasonable administrative expenses, whether already incurred or expected.

As a general guide, MoneyHelper's divorce guide (Wayback snapshot of 25 March 2026) says the fee for moving a pension credit typically ranges from £0 to £4,250, with the figure turning on the kind of pension and on whether the credit stays with the provider or moves. The scheme's own schedule is what counts, so ask for it in writing early. Court fees and who pays are in what a pension sharing order costs.

Pension sharing order FAQs

Can you get a pension sharing order without a divorce?

Under the 1973 Act a court in England and Wales makes one on or after a divorce or nullity of marriage order (section 24B), and a "party" means a party to a marriage; civil partners use the equivalent order under the Civil Partnership Act 2004. In Scotland, section 8 of the 1985 Act makes it an order sought in an action for divorce or dissolution. GOV.UK says the rules are different if you were not married or in a civil partnership. If you are separating without ending the marriage, a family solicitor can explain what is available.

Does a pension sharing order expire?

The time limits in the 1999 Act are about carrying the order out. The scheme's implementation period is 4 months beginning with the later of two dates: when the order takes effect, and when the scheme first holds copies of the order and of the divorce, dissolution or annulment order or decree, plus the prescribed information about both people (section 34); regulations can postpone its start in prescribed circumstances. A Scottish order or registered agreement is treated as never having taken effect if those papers do not reach the scheme within 2 months beginning with the date of the decree's (or declarator's) extract, unless the Court of Session or the sheriff extends the period (section 28). Remarriage is covered in sharing orders and remarriage, and changes in can a pension sharing order be changed.

What does a pension sharing order look like?

Under section 21A an English or Welsh order names the pension arrangement being shared and states the percentage value to be transferred. A separate pension sharing annex is also used; its page explains how it differs from the order.

Can a pension be shared twice by the same couple?

In England and Wales, no: section 24B bars an order about an arrangement that is already the subject of a pension sharing order in relation to the marriage, or that has already been shared between the same two people.

Is pension sharing a good idea?

That turns on both pensions, both ages, the other assets and what each person needs later in life. Points to weigh are the clean break, the scheme's charge, the time the scheme takes and the alternatives above. MoneyHelper offers a free Pensions and divorce or dissolution appointment, and a solicitor can advise on the order.

Once you know which pensions are involved, an FCA-authorised adviser could talk you through your income after a split, the State Pension and other savings; the call-back is free, and you can ask for it with the form here.

Sources

• MoneyHelper guide to splitting pensions on divorce or dissolution (archived copy, 25 March 2026)
• GOV.UK guide, Money and property when you divorce or separate: Getting a financial agreement, If you agree, and Get the court to decide (read 22 October 2026)
• legislation.gov.uk: Welfare Reform and Pensions Act 1999, sections 27 to 29, 31, 34 and 41 and Schedule 5; Matrimonial Causes Act 1973, sections 21A and 24B; Family Law (Scotland) Act 1985, sections 8, 10 and 12A; Pensions on Divorce etc. (Charging) Regulations 2000, regulation 2