Pauline also commented in New Law Journal on the challenges in addressing pensions when a couple divorce or dissolve their civil partnership.

The ‘Guide to the Treatment of Pensions on Divorce’, published this summer by PAG is unequivocal that “Ignoring the pensions or agreeing to ignore the pensions is not an option”. Research conducted by PAG found that, of the 369 court files studied, 80% revealed at least one relevant pension and yet only 14% contained a pension order.As Pauline Fowler, chair of Resolution’s Pensions, Tax and Financial Remedies Committee, commented in the NLJ: “Part of the problem is that we have a complicated pensions industry, with a wide range of different financial instruments.”

The Guide from PAG, which was chaired by Mr Justice Francis and HHJ Hess, took two years intensive work by a group of specialist family and pensions lawyers, actuaries, financial advisors and academics to complete, and as well as providing a comprehensive good practice guide also contains no less than 45 recommendations to various bodies for changes to primary and secondary legislation, to court and other forms and to pension fund administrators.