{"id":127172,"date":"2026-10-18T08:15:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T07:15:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/?p=127172"},"modified":"2026-10-18T08:13:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-18T07:13:54","slug":"pension-warning-for-couples-aj-bell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/pension-warning-for-couples-aj-bell\/","title":{"rendered":"Pension Warning for Couples As AJ Bell Reveals Why One Form Could Save Thousands in Legal Fees"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The proposed changes could affect couples who have lived together for at least three years<\/strong> or have a child together. Financial and legal specialists say discussing pensions, property ownership and other arrangements before a relationship ends could help prevent costly disputes later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why AJ Bell Is Urging Couples To Consider a Cohabitation Agreement<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

According to the Mirror<\/a>, AJ Bell’s director of personal finance, Laura Suter<\/strong>, has encouraged couples to discuss how their assets would be handled if they separated or one partner died. She made the comments during an appearance on BBC Radio 4’s Money Box programme<\/a>, which examined the financial implications of cohabitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A cohabitation agreement allows partners to record their intentions regarding finances and property. Suter compared the document to a will<\/strong>, explaining that it can establish what each person expects to happen under different circumstances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discussions should cover several areas, including pension savings, ownership of assets, arrangements for children and the family home. These matters can become difficult when partners have different expectations about their financial responsibilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Suter acknowledged that raising such questions might feel uncomfortable, particularly for couples who have never discussed their finances in detail. “I think people just really need to think about having these open conversations<\/em>,” she told Money Box, encouraging partners to consider pensions, property and potential maintenance arrangements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Couples can prepare an agreement using templates <\/strong>available without professional assistance. This approach generally costs less, although Suter warned that obtaining legal advice could make the document more likely to withstand scrutiny if a dispute reaches court.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She explained that professionally prepared agreements are less likely to be challenged following a separation or death. Couples should therefore consider whether the additional expense of legal assistance is worthwhile.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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AJ Bell urges couples to protect their pensions and finances with one key document \u00a9Canva<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Proposed Legal Changes Could Affect Couples Living Together<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Government is considering stronger legal protections for unmarried partners, including possible rights to a share of proceeds from property sales following separation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the same source, the proposals would cover couples<\/a> who have lived together for at least three years or share a child. Ministers are reviewing feedback from a consultation, and the changes have not yet been introduced. Hannah Saxe, a specialist family solicitor at Brabners, also appeared on Money Box and supported the use of cohabitation agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She acknowledged that preparing such a document might seem unromantic or demanding, but said it could provide clarity during a relationship and reduce the risk of expensive legal disagreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“What it could potentially do is save you a lot of money on lawyers if there’s going to be a dispute further down the line<\/em>,” Saxe explained. Suter suggested that the proposed legislation could prompt difficult financial conversations among couples who have previously avoided them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She said partners might disagree about their expectations, particularly when discussing how assets <\/strong>should be divided. For now, the Government’s proposals remain under consideration. AJ Bell’s advice focuses on measures couples can already take, particularly discussing their finances and considering a written agreement before any dispute arises.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Pension provider AJ Bell has urged unmarried couples living together to review their financial arrangements and consider a cohabitation agreement. The advice comes as the UK Government examines proposals that could give cohabiting partners greater rights over shared assets following a separation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":127175,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-127172","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33","no-featured-image-padding"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127172","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127172"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127172\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127176,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127172\/revisions\/127176"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/127175"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127172"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127172"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/en.econostrum.info\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127172"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}