The pensions dashboard is coming, and divorce disclosure could change with it

Divorce disclosure has always involved a degree of archaeology. Careers change, schemes merge, providers rebrand and addresses go stale. One person may have paid little attention to the family’s long-term savings, and another may have little enthusiasm for revealing them, particularly when calculating a settlement.

The MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard will allow anyone to search for and view information about their UK workplace pensions, personal pensions and state pension in one secure online place.

For defined contribution arrangements (also known as money purchase pensions), the dashboard should show the current pot value and an estimate of retirement income. For defined benefit schemes (commonly referred to as final salary schemes), it should show the pension income accrued to date and, where relevant, the income that may be payable at retirement. Users should also see administrative information, including scheme names and contact details.

For a divorcing client, particularly one who has not previously managed the household finances, that could be transformative. What now feels like a collection of unfamiliar acronyms and half-remembered employers should become a more intelligible starting point.

For the legal team, the attraction is equally clear. A consolidated view could reveal the broad shape of the pension estate earlier, allowing disclosure questions, valuation requests and the need for expert input to be identified before they become obstacles to negotiation.

The dashboard is being introduced in stages behind the scenes. Nearly 1,500 pension providers and schemes have now connected to the central system, representing more than 70 million workplace and personal pension records, or about 85% of those in scope. Tens of millions of state pension records have also been connected. All providers and schemes within the mandatory perimeter must connect by 31 October 2026.

The dashboard is expected to become publicly available during the 2027/28 financial year.

At present, pension disclosure often begins with memory. People are asked where they have worked, whether they joined a scheme and what paperwork they still possess. That process is vulnerable to innocent omission and, occasionally, something less innocent.

The dashboard will not abolish such disputes, but it should make it considerably harder to rely on ‘I had forgotten about that one’ as a complete answer.

Its most immediate value in family law is therefore likely to be diagnostic. It should provide an objective cross-check against a client’s recollection and existing paperwork. Where a previously unknown scheme appears, the lawyer will know where to direct further enquiries. Where a pension is listed as pending or needing action, the omission itself becomes a task to resolve rather than a gap that may pass unnoticed.

That said, the dashboard will not alter the duty to give full and frank disclosure. Nor will it allow a lawyer simply to interrogate a spouse’s pension records. The individual must authenticate and initiate the search, and the practical process for providing results and supporting documents will need to be built into disclosure protocols.

The promise of ‘all pensions in one place’ needs qualification, particularly in high-value and later-life cases.

Pensions already being paid will not initially appear. That is a material limitation where one or both parties may already be drawing benefits. Occupational schemes with fewer than 100 relevant members are not generally required to connect, although they may do so voluntarily. Some small occupational arrangements associated with owner-managed businesses may therefore sit outside the mandatory perimeter. Arrangements administered outside the UK may also be out of scope.

Even where a scheme is connected, matching depends on the quality and consistency of its data. A change of surname, an old address or an incomplete record may prevent an immediate confirmed match. Providers can also have up to three working days to supply certain defined-contribution values and up to ten working days for other benefits where an up-to-date calculation is not already available.

A dashboard search that returns nothing should therefore never be treated as proof that nothing exists. The results will still need to be reconciled against employment history, remuneration records, tax returns, existing benefit statements and answers given in Form E. Particular care will be needed with overseas pensions, small schemes, annuities and benefits already in payment.

The dashboard is designed to help people understand their retirement savings. It is not designed to value those rights for divorce.

That distinction matters most for defined benefit pensions. The dashboard should show an accrued or projected annual income. It will not produce the divorce-specific cash equivalent required to support Form E disclosure. Form E continues to require a recent statement showing the cash equivalent provided by the trustees or managers of each pension arrangement.

For example, a promised pension income of £10,000 a year is not readily comparable with a house, an investment account or a defined contribution pot. Its economic value depends on factors including the member’s age, the scheme’s retirement date, inflation protection, survivor benefits and whether the pension is already in payment. A cash equivalent may help express the benefit as capital, but it does not automatically provide a fair exchange rate for offsetting pension rights against other assets.

Defined contribution pensions can also be more complicated than their headline pot values suggest. Two pots of the same size may differ because of guarantees, protected benefits, tax treatment, charges, investment risk or the way in which benefits have already been accessed. Nor can a dashboard determine whether pension sharing, offsetting or another settlement structure is suitable.

Its role is to show where the pensions are and provide a broad indication of what has been built up. The lawyer and pension specialist must still establish what those rights mean in the context of the marriage, the proposed settlement and each party’s future.

Prepare the disclosure process. Once public access begins, requesting a dashboard search early should become a standard consideration rather than a last-minute exercise. The result should be obtained alongside, not instead of, existing pension statements and Form E documentation.

Reconcile rather than accept. Each confirmed pension should be checked against employment history and existing disclosure. Every pending pension or record needing action should be followed through. The absence of an expected scheme should prompt questions about data matching, pensions in payment, overseas arrangements or schemes outside the mandatory perimeter.

Ask for divorce-grade evidence. Where a pension is material, the relevant cash equivalent, scheme information and benefit details should still be requested. Complex defined benefit, public service and hybrid arrangements may require input from a pension expert. A dashboard screenshot will not be enough for negotiation or expert calculation.

Bring future planning forward. Pension analysis is most useful before the settlement takes shape. Cashflow modelling can show what different combinations of housing, liquid capital and pension income mean in real life. That can help a financially inexperienced client understand the choices without being patronised or overwhelmed, while giving the legal team confidence that a proposed settlement is workable.

Work with an experienced team. Evelyn Partners’ approach is to work alongside a client's other professional advisers, such as lawyers, mediators, divorce coaches and accountants combining pension expertise with cashflow modelling, tax planning and investment advice so that legal and financial recommendations remain aligned.

At Evelyn Partners, we work alongside family lawyers and other professionals before, during and after settlement. Our specialist divorce team brings together pension, tax, investment and financial planning expertise, turning complex information into practical analysis that can support negotiations and help clients understand the long-term consequences of their choices.

The focus is personal and pragmatic: aligning legal and financial advice, reducing uncertainty and helping clients move forward with confidence.

To find out more about how we can support your clients, please speak to your usual Evelyn Partners contact.

Source:

Pensions Dashboard Programme, 2026