Landmark legal ruling on survivors’ pensions

Unmarried people who were denied survivors’ pensions after the death of a partner were urged to appeal against the decision, following a landmark legal ruling this week.

The call comes from experts following a legal case won by a woman who was denied access to her long-term partner’s pension after his sudden death in 2009.

Denise Brewster, from Northern Ireland, had lived with her partner Lenny McMullan for ten years, and had been engaged to him for two days, before his death from a haemorrhage.

Mr McMullan had been a member of the Northern Ireland’s local government pension scheme for 15 years. Had the couple been married, or in a civil partnership, Ms Brewster would have automatically been granted a survivor’s pension following his death.

But the scheme had denied her a pension on the grounds her partner had not signed a nomination form, a requirement not imposed on married members or those in civil partnerships.

Over the course of a six-year legal battle, Ms Brewster, 42, sought to overturn the decision claiming “serious discrimination” against her.

In a unanimous decision this week, the Supreme Court ruled the scheme had discriminated against her on the grounds of marital status.

“Denying bereaved cohabitees access to survivor pensions causes huge distress as well as significant financial hardship,” said Gareth Mitchell of Deighton Pierce Glynn, the legal firm which represented Ms Brewster.

“Now that around one in six families in the UK are cohabiting families, reform is long overdue.”

While the ruling will bring Northern Ireland into line with local government schemes in England, Wales and Scotland, which had scrapped the requirement for nomination forms in 2014, experts said the judgment could have far-reaching implications.

“Although the Supreme Court has only declared the Northern Ireland local government scheme to be unlawful, the reasoning behind the court’s decision means that the identical provisions found in many other public sector schemes are likely to be unenforceable,” added Mr Mitchell.

“The rule which the Supreme Court has declared was unlawful is found in most of the UK’s public sector pension schemes of which there are around 12m members. This includes the National Health Service, teachers and civil service schemes. It is also found in many defined benefit pension schemes in the private sector.

Lawyers said individuals who had been denied survivor’s pensions in circumstances similar to Ms Brewster, in both public and private sector pension schemes, should appeal against the decision.

“It seems to me that people whose claims have failed in the past for lack of a nomination form should reopen them,” said Anna Rogers, senior partner with ARC Pensions Law.

“The likelihood is that all such public sector schemes will now be forced to revisit past refusals to pay survivors’ pensions to cohabitees where that refusal was based on the lack of a completed nomination form.”

Ms Rogers said that people who think they have a claim just need to write to the scheme.

“There are no particular formalities for appealing,” said Ms Rogers.

“If they are turned down the next step is to ask for the scheme’s internal dispute resolution form. If that process is completed without success the claimant can apply to the Pensions Ombudsman. Trustees may be constrained by what their rules say, and the legal advice they get.”