Select committee: Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 6
Second Report - The rights of cohabiting partners
Published 4 Aug 2022
Paragraph 73
Addressed to Government Equalities Office
Women and Equalities Committee The Rights of Cohabiting Partners All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
People need certainty following the loss of a partner. We support the Law Commission’s 2011 recommendations concerning intestacy and family provision claims for cohabitants. We are concerned that many cohabitants rely on trustee’ discretion to access their deceased partner’s pension, often after being asked to supply disproportionate amounts of evidence compared to married or civil partnered claimants. Like spouses and civil partners, cohabitants should be able to inherit the family home without fear they will have to sell it to pay an inheritance tax bill. The Government should immediately: a) implement the Law Commission’s 2011 recommendations concerning intestacy and family provision claims for cohabiting partners; b) publish clear guidelines on how pension schemes should treat surviving cohabiting partners, including what those partners are entitled to, and what evidence they will need to access survivor’s pensions; and c) review the inheritance tax regime so it is the same for cohabiting partners as it currently is for married couples and civil partners.
From: Women and Equalities Committee, Second Report - The rights of cohabiting partners (HC 92), paragraph 73, 4 August 2022
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 1 November 2022 (deadline 4 October 2022).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The government partially accepts the two awareness-campaign recommendations, accepts in principle the pensions guidance recommendation, and rejects the recommendations on cohabitation law reform, intestacy and inheritance tax.
- On a public awareness campaign, the government "does not consider a national campaign necessary" but commits to "take further action to consider the best ways to raise awareness", including considering a review of information on Gov.uk.
- It rejects the call for an opt-out cohabitation scheme and draft legislation in 2023-24, saying work on marriage and divorce law "must conclude" first, so it "cannot therefore commit" to that timetable.
- It rejects immediate implementation of the 2011 intestacy recommendations, intending to take "a cautious approach" and saying it "would want to consult ahead of pursuing any reforms".
- On pensions, it accepts in principle and "will thus consider whether non legislative broad guidance would be appropriate", after assessing the matter with the Pensions Regulator and key stakeholders. HM Treasury rejects the inheritance tax recommendation but "will keep inheritance tax, including the issue of cohabitation under review".