Church grants full pension rights to gay clergy partners

by Maria Mackay
Thursday, February 11, 2010

The Church of England's General Synod voted in favour of expanding full pension rights to partners of deceased gay clergy.

The Church of England’s governing body has passed a motion in favour of giving civil partners of deceased gay clergy the same pension entitlements as heterosexual widows or widowers.

The motion was put forward by the Rev Mark Bratton, priest at St John the Baptist church in Berkwell, near Coventry. It asks the Church of England Pensions Board to go beyond the requirements of the Civil Partnership Act 2004 and pay pension benefits to surviving civil partners of deceased clergy on the same basis as surviving spouses.

Under the terms of the Act, surviving civil partners are not entitled to benefits if their deceased partner ceased pensionable service before December 2005. At present, a widow or widower is entitled to a pension based on all of their deceased spouse’s pensionable service. the rest