TOMORROW is dubbed divorce day \u2013 the first working Monday in January when lawyers get a surge of split inquiries\u00a0following the festive period.<\/p>\n
And while for many it\u2019s a sad date, signalling the end of a relationship, finance expert Susan Hope says we needn\u2019t despair.<\/p>\n
Follow along with these money tips for 2026Credit: Getty<\/p>\n
Susan Hope from Scottish Widows shares her advice to protect yourself for the futureCredit: Supplied<\/p>\n
Instead, the day should give us all a shake \u2013 no matter what our relationship status is \u2013 to get our affairs in order for the year ahead.<\/p>\n
Scottish Widows money guru Susan Hope said: \u201cDivorce doesn\u2019t mean that you have to panic. It\u2019s not all doom and gloom. You can ask yourself, how can we feel financially secure? We can\u2019t predict the future, nobody knows what\u2019s going to happen.<\/p>\n
\u201cI definitely didn\u2019t predict my two divorces. But we can do a few simple things in January to make us feel more secure. Whether you\u2019re married, divorced, living with somebody, or somewhere in between, it\u2019s about controlling our controllables.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shares some of her top advice about getting everything in place to protect yourself, no matter what the day \u2013 and the year ahead \u2013 holds.<\/p>\n
CHECK YOUR POT<\/p>\n
A BIT of investigation into your pension pot can go a long way.<\/p>\n
Susan\u00a0said: \u201cSo many people don\u2019t know what pensions they have, where they are or roughly what they\u2019re worth.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got \u00a331 billion of untraced pensions across the country. And that could be through change of address, through change of name \u2013 I\u2019ve had three names.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSit down with a cup of tea and make a list. Go back through your CV, think about where you\u2019ve had your jobs.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you don\u2019t know the value, write to them, email them. That\u2019s the first step.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDon\u2019t assume that other people will do that for you because they won\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
DOWNLOAD APPS<\/p>\n
WHILE most people use digital banking, they often\u00a0don\u2019t use the specific digital platforms made for their pensions.<\/p>\n
Susan said: \u201cIf they\u2019ve got an app, download it. Make sure that it\u2019s really easy for you to access and almost fun.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s like having your pension in your pocket. I love checking my app and seeing the money going in.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scottish Widows will soon open their app to everyone, not just customers, so people can easily plan their future.<\/p>\n
For example, you can see how compound interest works for you and make sure you\u2019re not losing out on pensions from old jobs.<\/p>\n
Susan recommends using apps for your pensionsCredit: Getty<\/p>\n
SCHEMES SEARCH<\/p>\n
SUSAN warned Scots to know if they\u00a0are maximising\u00a0their employer schemes.<\/p>\n
She said: \u201cMake sure that you\u2019re maximising at work. You and your partner.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSo make sure that you understand your employer\u2019s pension scheme, that you understand if you match contributions \u2014 where you get the money from.<\/p>\n
\u201cYour pension contribution is made up from your contribution, government tax relief and the employer contribution.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cMy nephew\u2019s \u00a383 contribution turns into \u00a3312 every month because he\u2019s on a double-match scheme.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s definitely worth understanding that, both for you and your partner.\u201d<\/p>\n
KNOW JOINT SUM<\/p>\n
KNOW exactly what cash will come into the home when you retire \u2014 especially as there may be an unexpected split.<\/p>\n
She explained: \u201cIt\u2019s worth understanding what the household pension number is. During a split, most pensions sit quietly in the corner while folk are fighting over kids and Christmas lights.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost too much emotional load and mental load to go looking for other things.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhereas if you know the picture, it can become far more businesslike.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would really encourage women to be equipped with knowledge of what household assets are, not just their own.\u201d<\/p>\n
INFORM THE KIDS<\/p>\n
WHILE thinking about death is never pleasant, it\u2019s vital to protect the hard-earned cash you leave behind, especially if you\u2019re had a split from a partner.<\/p>\n
Susan said: \u201cMake sure your beneficiaries are up to date. This is key. They say the average person has between nine and 11 pensions.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat makes sure that when something happens, as it inevitably will, the money goes to the right person at the right time without any delay. It\u2019s hugely important as we\u2019ve got so many blended families these days.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are things that are within your control and take five minutes.\u201d<\/p>\n
Make sure your beneficiaries are up to dateCredit: Getty<\/p>\n
BRUSH UP ON AGE<\/p>\n
LASTLY, it\u2019s important to understand your retirement age.<\/p>\n
Susan explained: \u201cIf you\u2019ve got three or four different pensions, it\u2019s key to understand when your scheme retirement age is. And if that doesn\u2019t suit you, you can change it free of charge.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cDownload the HMRC app and you know when your state pension age is too.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re moving from 66 to 67 and are probably going to move to 68 or even beyond it. It\u2019s really important to avoid a WASPI women\u2019s situation, that my mum was part of.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCheck if you\u2019ve got any gaps in your national insurance record that you can fill.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TOMORROW is dubbed divorce day \u2013 the first working Monday in January when lawyers get a surge of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":351776,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[5360,84,3363,4176,1371,5780,4547,2267,4178,4174,4175,2221,2269,2610,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-351775","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-personal-finance","tag-bills","tag-business","tag-cost-of-living","tag-finance","tag-jobs","tag-marriage","tag-money-saving","tag-parenting-advice","tag-pensions","tag-personal-finance","tag-personalfinance","tag-state-pension","tag-sun-club","tag-tips-tricks-and-life-hacks","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351775","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351775"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351775\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/351776"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351775"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351775"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351775"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}