Equal Pension Rights

In a landmark decision handed down by the Supreme Court (the highest Court in the land) today, married gay couples must be allowed equal pension rights. In a judgement that was unanimous, John Walker won his case which entitled his husband to the same pension rights upon his death as a wife would enjoy.

Mr. Walker was a former cavalry officer who had been with his husband since 1993. The law changed in 2005 allowing same sex marriages and Mr. Walker and his husband entered into a civil partnership which was later converted into a marriage. Mr. Walker was then concerned if when he died, a spouse’s pension would be payable to his husband. He was told that it would not be as the time that he had served pre-dated the introduction of civil partnerships in the UK.

Taking legal action for equal rights, Mr. Walker won his case today with the court as to not allow his husband the same rights as a wife amounted to discrimination. Without this ruling, Mr. Walker’s husband would have only gotten around £1,000.00 per year as opposed to a spouse’s pension, which he is now entitled to, of £45,700.00 per year!

Pensions are often a complicated area especially when it comes to division of assets when marriages unfortunately breakdown. Often, solicitors miscalculate the value of a pension which could mean you losing out on a fair share of your ex-partner’s pension, no matter their gender. This could be the case even if you were given more money or a greater share of the house. It is always worth checking, just to be sure. Please give us a call for a confidential chat on 0800 612 5069; we offer a no-win, no-fee service and there is no contact with your ex-partner.

May Lee
Associate, Irvings Law