Women’s income drops more than men’s post divorce
According to research by Legal & General (The Divorce Gap – women see their household income drop twice as much as men, following divorce | Legal & General (legalandgeneral.com)l, women will see their income fall by double that of men in the first year following divorce.
Opinium Research conducted research between 20th November to 4th December 2023, amongst a nationally representative panel of 2,750 UK adults who are divorced.
Legal & General say that this disparity is caused by a number of factors, one being that men are more likely to be the main breadwinner in families and commonly earn more than women (70% vs. 21%). This will often be the case if the couple has children.
This is one of the main issues that will often need to be considered when the couple separates their finances and need to fund two households instead of one.
One in four women struggle financially after divorce (24%) compared to men (18%). This leads to women being more likely to have greater worries about the cost of essentials (21% compared to 13% of men).
Whilst men and women tend to agree that the division of their finances at the point of divorce is fair and equitable (53 per cent men and 46 per cent women), Legal & General say that the research has found that many women may be signing over their rights to a key financial asset. As experienced, specialist family lawyers, this doesn’t come as a surprise to us.
According to the research, women are significantly more likely to waive their rights to their spouse’s pension as part of a financial settlement (30% of women vs. 17% of men). This raises concerns about the ability of women who are divorcing to fund their retirement, due to a significant gap in pension wealth at the time of divorce. According to the research, women had saved an average of £23,000 into their pension pot at the time of divorce, compared to £60,000 by men.
This research highlights the importance of both parties having specialist legal advice and support when it comes to negotiating their financial settlement on divorce.
To receive advice on this or any other Family Law issue, please contact our Family Team on 020 8304 4884 or family@alettashaw.co.uk