There are some areas of pensions where it is illegal to treat men and women differently, but some (mainly related to the fact that women tend to live longer) where discrimination is legal.
It is illegal to discriminate when:
- deciding who can join a scheme
- paying benefits in a salary related scheme (except those built up before 1990 when European law stopped discrimination)
- paying lump sum death benefit
- setting retirement dates
It is legal to discriminate between men and women:
- when deciding how much to reduce a pension because of early retirement
- in pensions from money purchase schemes because it is legal to have different annuity rates for men and women
Sex discrimination has been made more difficult in recent years, largely thanks to European law and union action. But pensions built up before the rules were tightened may be covered by earlier rules. This is a complicated legal area, and you would need to take detailed advice.
