Barber equalisation

The government has been accused of "dragging its heels" on pensions equality after ruling out amending the law to provide for higher survivor benefits for widowers.

A historic bid to equalise normal pension ages (NPAs) in the Safeway Pension Scheme should be quashed, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been advised.

Equalisation problems from the 1990s are increasingly coming out of the woodwork as more schemes go down the bulk annuity route. The consequences can be enormous but there are ways to tackle it, writes Stephanie Baxter