| LGBT members | ||
|
|
Pension Rights & Civil Partnerships The main question is whether civil partners will be able to claim survivors' benefits for pension rights accruing after the act comes into force or pre-act pension accruals.With regard to survivor pensions in public service schemes, civil partners will be treated in the same way as married couples. The effect of this is that a surviving civil partner will be able to access their deceased civil partner's public service pension provision to accrue a survivor's pension in respect of rights accrued from 1988. A surviving civil partner whose partner was a member of a contracted-out pension scheme will be able to access their deceased civil partner's contracted-out rights accrued from 1988. This reflects the fact that surviving civil partners over state pension age will be able to access their deceased civil partner's state pension provision. Contracted-out rights replace a part of state pension provision; consequently, members who opt out of the state system are entitled to equivalent pension provision to those in the state system. The act, however, fails to provide full equality between married couples and civil partners, as survivors' rights are not extended beyond contracted-out rights in private pension schemes. In contracted-in private pension schemes which provide survivor benefits, a surviving spouse would be entitled to benefits in respect of all their deceased spouse's accrued rights under the scheme. However, a surviving civil partner in the same scheme would not be entitled to benefits in respect of their deceased civil partner's rights under the act. This inequality can be resolved if the scheme adopts more generous rules or if the trustees exercise a discretion (if any) to provide benefits for a surviving civil partner. This inequality is partially remedied by amendments to the Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations. These amendments provide that any difference in employment and pension rights between married couples and civil partners is unlawful discrimination. Therefore, with effect from the date the amended regulations come into force, it will be unlawful for trustees of private pension schemes to provide members with civil partners with lesser benefits than members who are married. January 2006 exec report (17Kb DOC) December 2005 exec report (17Kb DOC) |
Archive
|
|