Professionals come together for Pensions on Divorce event

On Thursday 5 December, MICRA and Mills & Reeve LLP hosted a joint seminar on Pensions and Divorce. Marking the launch this year of The Pension Advisory Group’s long-awaited A Guide to the Treatment of Pensions on Divorce which identified a number of key issues, including:

• pensions are considered in far too few cases;
• they are little understood;
• valuations are often needed but not obtained and when valuations are obtained they are too complex;
• there is a wide variation in how pensions are approached;
• the parties and the court often lack sufficient information to make a fair assessment and settlements are made without enough thought being given to pensions.

This thought-provoking seminar brought together, from different corners of the policy and practice process, the leading protagonists and thinkers in this debate to consider different disciplinary, social and industry perspectives on this incredibly thorny issue.

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.

It is vital that practitioners understand what to look out for when handling pensions and are able to identify when they should seek specialist pensions advice, so they are better placed to serve their clients with fair settlements and mitigate the potential claim of alleged negligence.

Speakers

• Philip Way, Partner, Mills & Reeve: Seminar Chairman
• Rhys Taylor, Barrister, The 36 Group and 30 Park Place: What you need to know – the Pension Advisory Group Report
• Christopher Brooks, AGE UK: The realities of pensions on divorce
• Kate Routledge, Actuary, & Paul Cobley, Independent Financial Adviser: Pensions on divorce: the financial adviser perspective
• Debbie Price, Professor of Social Gerontology, University of Manchester: Pensions on divorce: the wider context
• Grant Lazarus, Barrister, 7 Harrington St Chambers: Negligence actions in pensions on divorce cases
• Jane Portas, PwC, Insuring Women’s Futures: The pensions on divorce working group

Presentations

• Debbie Price presentation slides.
• Rhys Taylor, Kate Routledge and Paul Cobley presentation slides.
• Grant Lazarus presentation slides.
• Christopher Brooks presentation slides.

Printed copies of the PAG report are now available to buy from Class Legal for £19.99 including postage and packaging, while it is still free to download from the Nuffield Foundation.