Women are still losing out and are "very unhappy" with pension settlements in divorce proceedings, according to a firm of independent financial advisors.

Pension sharing arrangements brought in by the government in 2000 to try to increase provisions granted were still not sufficient, says Ruth Whitehead Associates (RWA).

According to the Ministry of Justice, only eight per cent of women obtained sharing orders last year after divorcing.

RWA called it a "terrifying statistic" which it attributed to the fact they might have been "worn down by the process".

Ruth Whitehead, principal of the firm, said that women should be determined to get the best impartial information to avoid debt and stay solvent.

She added: "It's about making sure that women in this position get the finest financial advice that they have ever had in their lifetime to make sue that what they have is reasonable, fair and just."

The new system was introduced in December 2000.

It allows couples to split pensions in half as opposed to the old system, which sometimes left one partner, usually the wife, with little or no pension provision.

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