diff --git a/src/util/pointer_expr.cpp b/src/util/pointer_expr.cpp
index 7de79c38a1c..2f3b2e9d8cc 100644
--- a/src/util/pointer_expr.cpp
+++ b/src/util/pointer_expr.cpp
@@ -61,7 +61,13 @@ static void build_object_descriptor_rec(
     build_object_descriptor_rec(ns, struct_op, dest);
 
     auto offset = member_offset_expr(member, ns);
-    CHECK_RETURN(offset.has_value());
+    if(!offset.has_value())
+    {
+      // Cannot compute offset for structs with non-constant-width members;
+      // set object to the member expression itself
+      dest.object() = member;
+      return;
+    }
 
     dest.offset() = plus_exprt(
       dest.offset(),