You’ve got your pension report. Now what?

General information, not advice on your own case.

Your report from a Pension on Divorce Expert (PODE) answers the hard question: what the pensions are really worth, and how they can be divided fairly. It is not the settlement itself, though, so here is how to use it.

Check it answers the question you asked. A good report is explicit about its goal, usually either equalising your incomes in retirement, or equalising the capital value of the pensions and lump sums. Make sure the basis it used is the one you wanted, and that you understand which it is, because the two can give very different percentages.

Check the assumptions and the scope. Reports rest on assumptions, retirement ages, whether the State Pension was included, how health was treated, and on a defined scope, which pensions were valued and over what period (the whole working life, or only the marriage). If any of those does not match your situation, raise it with the expert before you rely on the figures.

Ask your follow-up questions. The expert who wrote the report can normally answer questions about it. If it was a joint instruction, remember both of you are entitled to the same answers, so questions and replies are shared. Get the queries in together rather than in a drip.

Turn it into the order. Once you have agreed the split, the percentage and the specific pension go into the pension sharing order and its annex. Getting that wording right matters, and it is worth having a solicitor check it. Your solicitor, your mediator, or the expert who prepared the report can each help you move from the report to an agreed order.

Then it has to be implemented. Agreeing the share is not the end. The order still has to be put into effect by the scheme, and the exact amount is not settled until then. See Putting a pension sharing order into effect for what happens next, and how the value can move between the order and implementation.

Not there yet? If you have not had a report done, start with the “Do I need a PODE?” tool, or find an expert in the directory.

July 2026