Pension offsetting: is a consistent approach possible or even appropriate?

This paper examines the position of the courts pension experts and lawyers in terms of their valuation of pensions for offsetting in financial remedy proceedings.

It compares the different treatment of pensions in the judgments SJ v RA [2014] EWHC 4054 (Fam) JS v RS [2015] EWHC 2921 (Fam) [2016]  Fam Law 16 and WS v WS [2015] EWHC 3941(Fam) [2016]  Fam Law 564. It contrasts the treatment of pensions in these three judgments (all of which differ from each other) with the view of how pensions should be treated according to the pension experts.

The paper draws upon the work undertaken by Mr Rhys Taylor in Pensions on Divorce: Another Witches Brew and the Family Justice Council document entitled Sorting  Out Finances on Divorce. It suggests that the field of pension offsetting is a mess with judges asking for guidance solicitors unsure what to ask for and experts not knowing what is expected of them.

The author explores the various ways pensions have been valued for offsetting purposes and the reasons why different approaches have been taken in an attempt to...

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