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Pension for civil partners and same sex spouses
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Sue TyeBaker McKenzie
The Supreme Court, in the case of Walker v Innospec Limited and others [2017] UKSC 47, has ruled that the temporal restriction to pensions paid to surviving civil partners and same sex spouses is contrary to European law.This means that pensions for surviving civil partners and same sex spouses should be paid on the same basis as for surviving opposite-sex spouses, without limiting them to calculation by reference to pensionable service from 5 December 2005.Trustees and employers should review pensions already in payment to civil partners and same sex spouses and should also consider scheme rules in the light of this judgment. We give further guidance below. Read the full article here.