Question to the Department for Education:
To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans she has to equalise survivors' benefits from the Teachers' Pension Scheme for widowers, civil partners and same sex married couples with those for widows.
There are no plans to review survivors’ benefits from the Teachers’ Pension Scheme. It has been the policy of successive Governments that any changes or improvements to public service pension schemes are not normally applied retrospectively. This policy protects the current membership and taxpayers from having to meet unforeseen additional costs that were not previously taken into account, and to which those who would benefit have not contributed towards.