The introduction of pension sharing has created additional choice and more options for divorcing couples of consider before reaching a decision about the most suitable financial arrangements.

An independent financial adviser can work closely with your solicitor to help determine the best course of action for your pension assets.

If pension sharing is decided as the best option, you will need guidance from an independent financial adviser to determine the best option for your pension credit.

An IFA will be able to help you understand the difference between the likely benefits from an internal or external transfer, assuming both options are available from the pension scheme.

If an external transfer is used, an appropriately qualified and experienced IFA can provide advice on the most suitable type of pension arrangement to accept this pension credit and recommend an investment strategy in line with your retirement objectives and attitude towards investment risk.

If you receive a cash settlement as part of the divorce proceedings, you should seek advice from an IFA about how to allocate this money to meet your financial objectives. This might include the repayment of debt or investment of the money for the provision of income in the future.

Both partners may need to independent financial advice on how to best make provision for their own retirement income following a divorce.

Full financial review

In addition to consider the pension aspects of divorce, an IFA will be able to provide a full financial review and help you to assess all of the options for your future financial plans.

An invaluable exercise for both parties to the divorce to undertake is the construction of a comprehensive financial plan, which should include cashflow forecasts and the assessment of various scenarios so you can understand the most appropriate choices in your life from a financial perspective.