Women 'should get their own pension'

By Tom Farley, Tue 27 May 2008 - Published in Pensions

A woman should not rely on the pension of her husband or partner for her retirement, just in case of divorce, an expert has said.

Ruth Whitehead of Ruth Whitehead Associates said that there is now no guarantee that a marriage would last a lifetime and that dividing a pension could be painful and difficult.

She noted that "very many women" do not make any form of pension provision, but that it should be an important step to take.

"Traditionally there has been an understanding that the husband's pension will provide for them both later on," she said.

But there is no guarantee that a marriage would last this long and annexing pension provision as part of divorce proceedings is "painful and difficult to do", she said.

And it is not just married people that should make such arrangements, co-habiting couples should also clearly define their pension and property rights, Ms Whitehead said.

The latest figures from National Statistics suggest that in 2006, the UK divorce rate fell to its lowest level since 1984, with 12.2 divorces per 1,000 married couples.

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