Can my husband leave his pension to someone else now that we are separated?

I am a 70 year old retiree and recently divorced from my husband who is 82. He has a work pension that includes the widow's pension.

If he dies, am I still entitled to a widow's pension, or can he name someone else?

Tanya Jefferies from This is Money replies: You don't provide any details about your current situation, but if you don't have much to live on, you might want to consider whether you should share your husband's pension now.

It would be a good idea to discuss all your options with an attorney, even if you are not ready for divorce or ultimately decide not to do so – see below.

Here are some links that may be useful.

Who inherits a work pension if you die?

Do you inherit a state pension from your spouse?

Can you claim a higher AOW pension if you are divorced?

How is the pension divided in the event of a divorce?

Are you eligible for a pension discount?

We asked a financial expert to take a closer look at your situation and she will discuss your options below.

Tamsin Caine, financial planner at Smart Financial, answers: As is often the case with these questions, it depends on a number of factors.

Assuming you remain separated and do not formalize this by divorcing, you are entitled to a widow's pension upon the death of your spouse.

If you formalize this situation by divorcing, you are no longer entitled to the widow's pension, because you are no longer regarded as his widow due to the dissolution of the marriage contract.

However, if you remain divorced, you will not be entitled to your spouse's retirement benefits during his lifetime.

He may choose to share them with you voluntarily, but you actually have no right to do so.

If you choose the divorce route, you can receive part of the pension through a pension sharing decision. This is only possible in the event of divorce.

What happens to pensions and other financial assets if you divorce?

It is worth saying a little more about the situation in the field of divorce.

In England and Wales, the division of financial assets on divorce in long-term marriages takes into account all assets – for example the family home, other property, savings, investments, business interests, cryptocurrency and pensions.

There are different ways to share pensions.

1. A pension partial assignment gives one party a pension credit and the other a pension debit.

In some cases, the recipient spouse may become a shadow member of the retirement plan, providing him or her with his or her own benefits when he or she retires.

In other cases, they will have to transfer the pension balance to a personal pension. This route generally aims to equalize the benefits that both men and women receive.

2. Another option is compensation, where one spouse receives cash or other assets in lieu of the value of the pension.

For example, they can receive a fixed amount, an investment property or a larger share of the family home instead of part of the pension.

3. The final option is a garnishment attachment, in which the recipient receives a share of the pension income that the pension participant will receive.

This has become less common following the introduction of pension sharing orders due to the lack of control the recipient has over the pension.

Advice from an expert in the field should be sought for all options as there are some complexities that can be overlooked and unintended consequences can occur if the choices are not fully explored.

An important warning about making a financial settlement BEFORE filing for divorce

I must also add that the situation surrounding the non-payment of the widow's pension after the divorce is one of the main reasons that an agreement on the financial settlement must be reached, and that the Financial Consent Order must be sealed by the court before the Final Order is requested, formerly the Decree Absolute.

If the spouse sharing their pension were to die after the Final Order was granted but before the Financial Consent Order, of which the Pension Sharing Schedule is a part, there would be no widow's pension and no pension share.

This is a very possible situation.

Fortunately, the only time I have experienced the death of a party during a divorce after the conditional order was granted, the final order was not applied for and thus the widow received the death benefit.

What type of occupational pension does your husband receive?

From your question it appears that your husband's work pension is probably a defined benefit pension.

There are a number of types of these, but these include final salary schemes and average salary schemes, also known as CARE schemes.

There is another type of pension known as defined contribution. Rather than offering a certain income upon retirement, these pensions depend on the value of the pot upon retirement.

They also offer death benefits in the form of a lump sum, a dependent annuity, or a dependent benefit.

In this case, an 'expression of wishes' by the pension holder will determine the trustee's decision as to where the death benefit should be paid.

This can be changed at any time to any person, trust or charity specified by the pension participant.

However, pension plan administrators have the freedom to determine where to disburse the funds and often look primarily to the financial dependents.