January 9 this year, the first working Monday after the Christmas Break, has been dubbed Divorce Day.
This is typically when enquiries about splitting tend to peak after a fraught festive season; in the past letting agents have typically recorded a rise in interest around this time in January, as one partner seeks temporary accommodation.
The number of divorces has started to tick up – there were over 113,000 in England and Wales in 2021 - and no-fault divorce, introduced last April, enables one or both partners to apply for divorce, and there’s no need for any further blame or recriminations. This is believed to have triggered a spate of divorces for couples in later life, who may have substantial equity in their homes.
However, in recent research from business consultancy Hargreaves Lansdown, over one quarter of people said they couldn’t cope in retirement without their partner’s pension, with women likely to be more affected by men.
If divorce happens close to retirement age, then there can be very little time to build up a meaningful pension in your own right if you haven’t already been contributing - leaving you with tough decisions to make about how you will live.
The options for pension sharing are numerous – the pension can be split between partners on divorce or offset against another asset such as the family home.
Alternatively, your partner can pay you an income from the pension once they reach retirement, though admittedly this may not be the best option if you are looking for a clean break. If you have adequate pension provision of your own, then you may not need part of your partner’s pension.
Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says: “The Christmas period can be fraught for many people as they face the prospect of being cooped up with their nearest and dearest for several days. For most people, any squabbles are quickly forgotten, but if your marriage is already under strain then this period can spell the end of your relationship. Enquiries to solicitors tend to peak in the first working week of January as people start planning their escape.
“If you do decide to call time on your marriage, the introduction of no-fault divorces last April should make it slightly easier as there’s no need to give a reason for your decision, such as adultery or unreasonable behaviour. This can also help take some of the venom out of proceedings and can really help couples come to a more amicable settlement more quickly and hopefully save money on costly legal fees.
“However, care needs to be taken to ensure that all aspects of a couple’s finances are discussed as part of a divorce settlement. Assets such as the family home tend to be prioritised at the expense of pensions and this can leave one partner, usually the woman, severely financially disadvantaged.”
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Good luck finding anything to rent 😰😰.
I've got one coming on line this week - not anticipating any problems renting it :)
I got two studio apartments ready end of January I have had people walking in off the street and enquiring when and how much. I have steady had offers of £600 pcm was targeting £500 but if £600 is market suits me
This is indeed another pressure on the rental market. There are commonly applicants in this situation and often they want a 2 or 3 bed house so the kids can stay over on a regular basis. They will struggle to find anywhere, and I find its usually best to rent to 2 adults both working so they can more likely cover rent and bills.
I'm happy to rent to divorces but unless they are earning strong money I want a good guarantor
I like the way our government likes breaking down our society. No-fault divorces are in. So Husband and wife can now ditch each other much easier further breaking up families etc and creating unstable 1 parent families and dividing 1 household into 2 creating even more demand on housing. But no-fault evictions are out. Leading to less homes available. And we all no most S21s are definitely not no fault at all!
It doesnt tend to be this early, you normally get all the divorce/split up valuations in late Jan/Early Feb after they have finished all the arguments about who is moving out, keeping the cat and the DVD collection etc, which will have barely started. Got to return from the ski slopes first.
Now 2.9 Million Single Parent Families, created by this law making separation easy for them to go on the Benefits and get Housed. I don’t know any Single Parent family not on Benefits.
I prefer the single fathers because as you rightly say the single mums are nearly all on benefits.
I don’t understand about Benefit cap for years and years an Iranian Family a woman & 7 children (hardly children when oldest at the time was 22) allegedly no man but he seemed to have appeared.
Anyway the Ealing Council Benefit was paying nearly 4 times as much rent for them than I was getting for my licensed for Seven HMO Detached House. Their landlord was getting more per week than I was getting per month or £102k pa, that house didn’t require a license and wouldn’t have met the requirements.
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