The appellant, a gay man, worked for the respondent from 1980 until his retirement in 2003. Throughout that period, he made regular contributions to the firm’s occupational pension scheme. He lived with his male partner since 1993 and they entered into a civil partnership in 2006 and are now married. The appellant brought a challenge regarding benefits payable to his spouse (under a civil partnership) as the payable benefits from his former employer's pension scheme were restricted so that only service after 5 April 2005 would count for the purposes of calculating any survivor's pension for a same sex spouse or civil partner. If the appellant had a wife, she would be entitled to a two thirds pension