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Case: pension rights for unmarried couples?

The Brewster Supreme Court ruling on the pension rights of a co-habiting partner highlights differences in regulations covering public sector pensions in Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, and there are implications for private sector pension schemes, says Becky Ryding, a pensions solicitor at Gateley plc

The Supreme Court has ruled in favour of an unmarried woman seeking a pension from her late partner’s scheme in Brewster, re Judicial Review (Northern Ireland) [2017] UKSC 8. While the case concerns a public sector pension, it may prompt a reconsideration of barriers to awarding a survivor’s pension which may exist in the private sector.

Background

Ms Brewster, from Coleraine, had cohabited in a property she owned with her partner Mr McMullen for 10 years and prior to that in two other properties. McMullen died suddenly on Boxing Day in 2009, two days after the couple had got engaged.

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