UK couple take battle for equal pension rights to Court of Appeal

A gay man has launched a legal bid to give his husband the same pension benefits he would be entitled to if he was his wife.

Ex-cavalry officer John Walker has taken his case to the UK Court of Appeal, where his lawyers claim his husband would receive just 1% of the amount that would be paid to his spouse if he were married to a woman.

Mr Walker retired from chemical group Innospec Ltd in 2003 after 23 years. the BBC reports. He has been in a relationship with his partner since 1983, entered a civil partnership in 2006 and recently converted it to a marriage, but he claims the company fails to treat surviving same-sex spouses and civil partners as equal to surviving heterosexual spouses.

In 2012, an Employment Tribunal in Manchester ruled in Mr Walker’s favour, saying Innospec’s scheme contravened Europeanequality laws. The company appealed, with the support of the Department for Work and Pensions, and eventually had the ruling overturned – which Mr Walker is himself now appealing.

The government says “full equalisation” of pensions would cost around £3.3bn, while a spokesperson for the Department for Work and Pensions has said that any ruling in favour of equality would also have complex implications for pension schemes.

“We must consider the full impact of this issue before considering changes to legislation,” he said.

Mr Walker is arguing that the current scheme breaches his human rights and EU laws stipulating equal treatment in employment.

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