Equal pension rights for same-sex couples

Same-sex marriage has been legal in Britain since 2014, but for years, a loophole in the Equality Act 2010 meant some same-sex spouses and civil partners weren’t entitled to the same pension protection as opposite-sex couples.

That changed in 2017, when the Supreme Court ruled in favour of John Walker, a retired gay man seeking to ensure that if his husband survived him, he could draw on Walker’s company pension if he died first. The case remains relevant to pension equality for same-sex couples today.

This post was originally published in July 2017 and reviewed in August 2026 to reflect the current legal position.

Equality Act ‘loophole’

Up until now, same-sex couples have been subject to a loophole in the Equality Act 2010, which prevents some widowed partners from having full access to their partners’ retirement benefits should they outlive them.

Because of the loophole, any money in company pension schemes accrued before 2005 would not be payable to a male widower of a same sex marriage or civil partnership, but would be accessible, for example, to a female widow if her husband died before her.

Using this loophole, Mr Walker’s former employer, Innospec, argued that, should he die first, it didn’t have to pay his husband any pension accrued before 2005 (the year civil partnerships became legal).

Lawyers from the human rights group, Liberty, argued that this was discrimination against Mr Walker because of his sexuality and that his partner, with whom he has lived since 1993, should be entitled to the full pension of £45,700 a year, rather than the statutory minimum of £1,000.

The Supreme Court agreed with them, concluding that the loophole in the Equality Act was incompatible with EU anti-discrimination law. This brought to a close a case which has been ongoing since 2012, when Mr Walker first took his former employer to an employment tribunal.

Has this changed since Brexit?

No. The Walker ruling was based on EU anti-discrimination law, and there were concerns at the time about what would happen to it once the UK left the EU. In practice, this protection remains.

Further information

This was a complex case involving elements of both employment and marital law. To speak to one of our expert employment law or family solicitors about issues relating to pensions or same sex relationships, call us on 0117 325 2929 or complete our online contact form.