In Brief
This case concerns whether employees who resigned before pension schemes were enacted can claim benefits under those schemes when they are given retrospective effect. The Court held that voluntary retirement and resignation are distinct legal concepts. Resignation forfeits service and disqualifies from pensions, while voluntary retirement requires statutory creation. Employees who resigned before pension regulations existed cannot benefit from retrospective application, as the regulations explicitly disqualify resignees. To allow such claims would be self-defeating: if the regulations had existed when they resigned, they would have forfeited benefits anyway. The Court distinguished earlier cases and upheld pension scheme exclusions.
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