Divorced women left £180k worse off than men as pension pots completely ignored

are urging others going through a separation not to overlook pots, as women are being left £180,000 worse off.

Danielle Burke, a 45-year-old single parent, is pleading with women not to repeat her mistakes after her husband's pot wasn't even mentioned during their divorce.

On average, divorced women have pension savings of just £26,100, compared to £205,800 for divorced men - a "shocking" gap of £179,700.

This disparity means women would need to work an additional 12 years after reaching retirement age to catch up, and single mothers face working an extra 33 years.

Despite typically being the second-largest asset after a home, pensions are frequently overlooked in divorce proceedings. This leaves many divorcees, especially women, at risk of inadequate retirement funds.

Danielle endured a painful divorce after discovering her husband was having an affair. He later left the country, abandoning her and their child. Because they were considered young parents at the time, her lawyers assumed pensions weren't relevant and failed to address them.

"It wasn't even discussed, and it wasn't something that I had at the top of my head because my main priority was my daughter at the time," she said.

Danielle explained that she spent most of the divorce "dealing with the emotional side" and didn't think about pensions - nor did anyone bring it up.

"I was just more concerned about the overall settlement. What was gonna happen to the house? What was gonna happen to me? Where were we going to live? I needed to find a new job as I was still on maternity leave."

Now divorced for several years, Danielle says the pension from her former marriage is something she'll "no longer be able to gain." She is now urging "other divorced women to be made aware of it."

She added: "Get the figures, get the facts."

The 2025 Underpensioned Report, released this month by Now Pensions in partnership with the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI), aims to raise awareness about future financial security.

Since the introduction of auto enrolment in 2012, over 11 million people have joined workplace pension schemes. But many people in underpensioned groups don't meet the eligibility requirements - meaning they miss out on the chance to save.

As a result, these individuals must rely more heavily on the State Pension.

Now Pensions is calling for policy reforms to close the pension gap. Among their proposals are: ensuring pension assets are included in every divorce settlement and removing the £10,000 earnings threshold for autoenrolment.

Samantha Gould, the report's lead author and a single mother herself, drew on her own divorce experience while conducting the research.

"These are massive and scary figures," Samantha said. "Typically, women come out of work to look after children, with our research showing mothers spend an average of 10 years away from the workforce to raise families."

She explained that this time out of work alone results in a pension shortfall of tens of thousands of pounds for women.

Like Danielle, Samantha said divorcees tend to focus on "their immediate needs," such as keeping a house near their child's school to avoid disruption.

"They might consider a pension, but it's very low down on the list."

Now Pensions is pushing for pensions to be a standard consideration in every divorce, aiming to give single parents a more secure financial future.