Civil service pension scheme exclusion of dependent cohabitant declared unconstitutional

The High Court granted an order quashing the Minister's refusal to extend a civil service occupational pension scheme benefit to the survivor of an unmarried, long-term cohabiting relationship, finding the scheme's exclusion of qualified cohabitants to be unconstitutional. The court determined that, although occupational pensions can distinguish between different relationship statuses, this particular scheme drew irrational and arbitrary distinctions by denying benefits to qualified cohabitants while recognising their status to revoke benefits from others. The judge concluded that denying a pension to a financially dependent surviving cohabitant—especially in the context where the applicant's late partner had made mandatory contributions—served no justifiable aim when the core purpose of the scheme was to provide support upon a member’s death. The judgment follows the Supreme Court’s approach in a similar social welfare context, but emphasised the unreasonableness of excluding qualified cohabitants given the overall design and stated objectives of the pension scheme.