Professor Debora Price gives candid interview to Legal and General on Pensions and Divorce
Professor Price shares advice for financial advisors working with divorcing couples.
Former MICRA Director, and one of the lead authors of the report Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ˜A Guide to the Treatment of Pensions on Divorce: the Report of the Pension Advisory GroupÇà¹ÏÊÓƵ™ (July 2019), Professor Debora Price has spoken extensively in an interview with Legal & General with advice for financial advisors working with divorcing couples.
In the interview Debora explains that divorce damages womenÇà¹ÏÊÓƵ™s finances more, and wives often have less developed financial networks than their husbands. As the pensions world is complex and ever-changing, it can be hard for even professionals to keep a handle on it all. As Debora states Çà¹ÏÊÓƵœBasically, itÇà¹ÏÊÓƵ™s all a bit of a mess. And thatÇà¹ÏÊÓƵ™s my official pronouncement!Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ
The article highlights the issues that come with the common decision for the woman to keep the family home, and the man to keep the pension. Debora remarks on the long term negative impacts of such a decision on the woman:
Çà¹ÏÊÓƵœThe woman will probably have less earning capacity, so sheÇà¹ÏÊÓƵ™ll focus on paying off the mortgage. She wonÇà¹ÏÊÓƵ™t pay into her own pension. When the man and woman reach 60, heÇà¹ÏÊÓƵ™ll have a house and a pension. SheÇà¹ÏÊÓƵ™ll have a house and no pension. At best, sheÇà¹ÏÊÓƵ™ll have to keep on working for much longer and wonÇà¹ÏÊÓƵ™t be able to choose when to retire. At worst, poor health or other misfortunes could leave her in a very tough place.Çà¹ÏÊÓƵ
The article/interview is directed towards financial advisors, but relevant to anyone with an interest in these issues.
Read the full article:
You can also view a short animation about Pensions and Divorce created by researchers from the Manchester Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing and Manchester Sociology: