By Jo Ratcliffe, Ruth Bamforth, Craig Looker

The High Court decided in the Lloyds Bank case that guaranteed minimum pensions must be equalised. This Insight looks at the main points of the judgement and what happens next.

GMPs: a quick reminder

GMPs (or guaranteed minimum pensions) had to be provided by contracted-out occupational pension schemes between 6 April 1978 and 5 April 1997. GMPs were calculated in broadly the same manner as the state earnings related pension scheme (SERPS) benefits they replaced, but they were not identical to those benefits. The GMP legislation is complicated and creates a number of inherent inequalities as between men and women. As a result, occupational pension schemes which fully comply with the GMP legislation provide unequal benefits to male and female members who have GMPs.