Denise Brewster from Northern Ireland claimed that she was a victim of “serious discrimination” when she was denied access to her late partner Lenny McMullan’s pension scheme.
Brewster and McMullan had been in a relationship for 10 years and owned their own home. McMullan died suddenly at Christmas in 2009, aged 43, just two days after the couple had become engaged.
At the time of his death, McMullan had worked for the Northern Ireland public transport service for 15 years, paying into an occupational scheme administered by the Northern Ireland Local Government Officers’ Superannuation Committee (NILGOSC).
No nomination
Had they been married, Brewster would have automatically had access to the pension.
However, as they were co-habiting but not married, Brewster would only be entitled to the pension if she had been nominated on a form, which her partner had not done.
She initially won her case in the High Court in Northern Ireland, where a judge said that it was “irrational and disproportionate to impose a disqualifying hurdle of this kind”, reports The BBC.
However, that decision was then overturned in the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland before heading to the UK Supreme Court for a final decision.
Five Supreme Court justices unanimously ruled that Brewster is entitled to receive payments under the pension scheme, saying that the nomination form was “unlawful discrimination” because married scheme members do not have to complete a form.
Brewster’s solicitor, Gareth Mitchell, said: “Denying bereaved cohabitees access to survivor pensions causes huge distress and financial hardship. Now that around one in six families in the UK are cohabiting families, reform is long overdue,” reports Sky News.
“The decision has significant implications for millions of cohabitees in relation to pension benefits. It also lays down the approach to be adopted when considering complaints of discrimination on the grounds of marital status in other areas,” Mitchell said.
Review the rules
Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “[This] judgement is good news for anyone like Denise Brewster who stood to lose out on their partner’s pension, simply because a form hadn’t been signed.
“It means the Northern Ireland local government pension scheme and others covering people working in education, the NHS and the civil service will now have to look again at their rules.
“The last thing a recently bereaved person needs is to have to fight for a pension that’s rightfully theirs. This thankfully will no longer be necessary.”
Never assume
Defined benefit (DB) and defined contribution (DC) scheme members “should not make any assumptions about who will inherit [their] pension if they pass away”, warned Old Mutual Wealth’s pension expert Jon Greer.
