Pensions for Male to Females.

[Adrienne May]

Male to Female Pensions.sizeThose male to female transwomen who transitioned before 5th April 2003 and who were over sixty at this time, are entitled to Pension from their 60th birthday.
Most of these people will have received visits from the National Insurance Contributions Office, which transferred from DSS to HMRC in April 1999. These visits will have informed them that the Government considers their gender to be that established at birth and noted on their birth certificates.
That advice was wrong in law. Pension Rights are part of working conditions and under the EEC Directive 79/7 of 1979, equal rights were bestowed irrespective of Gender. The UK Government should have put this into effect by 1984, but chose to ignore the ruling.
The Government have been taken to the European Court of Justice in 2002 by Goodwin. That case decided that the Government should implement the Directive 79/7 and pay State Pension to any transwoman.  DWP v Richards October 2005 confirmed this ruling
The Government decided to implement the Directive by introducing the Gender Recognition Act, 2004 which came into effect from 5th April 2005. They hoped that this act would also limit the number of transwomen who would be entitled to apply. Ever since, they have been fighting a rearguard action, refusing to pay out wherever possible and taking claimants to tribunals, higher tribunals and even to the Supreme Court.
One condition of eligibility has been that the transwoman must be divorced from their female spouse. The case in the Supreme Court, May 2010 judgement October 2010, DWP v Timbrell decided that this condition is not in accordance with Human Rights and therefore those transwomen still married to their female spouse are entitled to State Pension.
What You Should Do. If you qualify as above you should write to DWP.
The Pension Service Appeals Team, Tyneview Park,Newcastle upon Tyne, NE98 1BA stating your National Insurance number. You will be asked to supply details of your transition date, birth certificate and proof that you were living full time as a female.
They will endeavour to put every obstacle in your way. Do not take no for an answer. Several have been paid already but most have not applied and the Government is not doing anything to identify and pay eligible claimants.

[rejennyrated]

Yes this applies to the UK population. Unfortunately however... those of us who are 50 or less will not get this benefit because by the time we retire the UK state pension age will have been equalised at 65!

I first transitioned at the age of 5 in 1965 - I have lived almost all my life as female and I had SRS in 1985, and of course my birth cert now also says female. Sadly I still wont get a pension at 60 because by then all females will be retiring at 65

[Adrienne May]

Well, I did state specifically that this applied to those who were 60  pre 5th April 2005 (when the GRA came into force) but had transitioned pre 5th April 2003, (the latter because the Government insist of a minimum time of transitioning of two years before one is eligible). Quite rightly the pension age for all will eventually be the same. It is also right that in view of prolonged life expectancy, people will have to work longer.