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 鈥楢 Guide to the Treatment of Pensions on Divorce: the Report of the Pension Advisory Group鈥� (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 women鈥檚 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 鈥淏asically, it鈥檚 all a bit of a mess. And that鈥檚 my official pronouncement!鈥�
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:
鈥淭he woman will probably have less earning capacity, so she鈥檒l focus on paying off the mortgage. She won鈥檛 pay into her own pension. When the man and woman reach 60, he鈥檒l have a house and a pension. She鈥檒l have a house and no pension. At best, she鈥檒l have to keep on working for much longer and won鈥檛 be able to choose when to retire. At worst, poor health or other misfortunes could leave her in a very tough place.鈥�
The article/interview is directed towards financial advisors, but relevant to anyone with an interest in these issues.
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You can also view a short animation about Pensions and Divorce created by researchers from the 91直播 Institute for Collaborative Research on Ageing and 91直播 Sociology: