After two years of hard work, the Pension Advisory Group (PAG), of which Joanna Miles is an academic member, has published its essential guide to the treatment of pensions on divorce.
PAG’s long awaited report brings guidance to family judges, lawyers and pension experts encouraging fairer settlements and helping to manage liability. The guide and more information about PAG and the project are available at the Nuffield Foundation website.
PAG is a multi-disciplinary group of professionals specialising in financial remedies and pensions on divorce. The group is jointly chaired by Mr Justice Francis and His Honour Judge Edward Hess and is supported by the President of the Family Division and the Family Justice Council. The project has been partially funded by the Nuffield Foundation.
PAG has come together to produce a clear good practice guide to address the shortfall in understanding of how to treat pensions on divorce. PAG was determined to create a guide that demystifies the jargon of pensions and improves communication amongst the professionals working in this field across England & Wales.
The guide was born from the need to address the wide variation of financial settlements nationally which stems from a lack of understanding of how professionals should deal with the valuation, sharing or offsetting of pension fund assets.
Next to property, pensions are often the largest asset in any divorce settlement and their complexity is laden with risk which has in recent years caught the attention of the claims management sector. The widespread deficiency in knowledge is not only a hindrance to the client but also leaves professionals vulnerable to potential claims being brought against them.