Despite years of campaigning by groups such as Parity it's still very much the case that men in the UK are discriminated against when wanting to retire, having to wait five years longer than women to receive their state pensions. The present coalition government even proposes widening this disparity and believe men should wait until they are 66, despite the fact that men contribute far more in National Insurance and die much sooner than women too.
Fortunately there is now a way to avoid such discrimination and for men to receive the money that is rightfully theirs. Quite simply, if men who've worked hard all their lives wish to retire five years early and receive the extra £25,000 afforded to women all they need to do is to cut off their penis before their 60th birthday.
Such a fact was illustrated this week with the case of Christopher Timbrell who had a sex change operation at the age of 59 though still remains married to his/her wife. Due to the couple remaining married, Timbrell, along with millions of men had been denied a state pension between the age of 60 to 65. However the Civil Appeal Court order that the decision had breached European equality laws and thus those such as Timbrell were entailed to up to £25,000 in backdated payments.
The court case itself featured all manner of discussion about whether or not two women can be married with the government's defence being the Timbrells would received "preferential treatment" over any other couple. It doesn't' appear to dawn on any of those involved that millions of women receive the very same "preferential treatment" over their male counterparts every single day. If we actually had equality in retirement ages all these ridiculous debates and layers fees could be done away with as we'd simply just treat everyone the same, regardless of what genitalia they have, or what gender they happen to identify themselves as.
I don't wish this piece to be construed as insensitive to the now Mrs Timbrell or people who decide to have a sex change and I realise that their cases involved a lot of anguish and more than a simple operation. In contrast to your average transphobic gender feminist I really don't care what people do with their bodies or what gender they wish to be and I'd actually like to congratulate Christine on defeating the government's sexism, albeit using a method that might not have mass appeal. In fact as an alternative to surgery men could surely just identify as a woman for five years order to receive their pension, with this case setting the precedent that they can even remain married.
In a wider context it's important to note that the benefits of changing one's gender in the UK aren't limited gaining tens of thousands of pounds or having five years extra off work, that's just the tip of the iceberg. On top of such incentives there's the prospect of getting into Parliament much more easily, significant help with your business, a promotion at work, exclusive leisure and educational facilities and even perhaps even a get out of jail free card too (and certainly a reduction on any sentence). The Timbrell case is a stark reminder of the discrimination faced by men today, despite many welcome signs and making some of the right noises in some areas, the fact is that the present government wishes to increase the pension gap rather than introducing equality.
In conclusion, I'd say it's fantastic that equality laws are used to help transsexuals, but how about actually using legislation to stop discrimination against those who are happy to remain as men too?
by John Kimble
Fortunately there is now a way to avoid such discrimination and for men to receive the money that is rightfully theirs. Quite simply, if men who've worked hard all their lives wish to retire five years early and receive the extra £25,000 afforded to women all they need to do is to cut off their penis before their 60th birthday.
Such a fact was illustrated this week with the case of Christopher Timbrell who had a sex change operation at the age of 59 though still remains married to his/her wife. Due to the couple remaining married, Timbrell, along with millions of men had been denied a state pension between the age of 60 to 65. However the Civil Appeal Court order that the decision had breached European equality laws and thus those such as Timbrell were entailed to up to £25,000 in backdated payments.
The court case itself featured all manner of discussion about whether or not two women can be married with the government's defence being the Timbrells would received "preferential treatment" over any other couple. It doesn't' appear to dawn on any of those involved that millions of women receive the very same "preferential treatment" over their male counterparts every single day. If we actually had equality in retirement ages all these ridiculous debates and layers fees could be done away with as we'd simply just treat everyone the same, regardless of what genitalia they have, or what gender they happen to identify themselves as.
I don't wish this piece to be construed as insensitive to the now Mrs Timbrell or people who decide to have a sex change and I realise that their cases involved a lot of anguish and more than a simple operation. In contrast to your average transphobic gender feminist I really don't care what people do with their bodies or what gender they wish to be and I'd actually like to congratulate Christine on defeating the government's sexism, albeit using a method that might not have mass appeal. In fact as an alternative to surgery men could surely just identify as a woman for five years order to receive their pension, with this case setting the precedent that they can even remain married.
In a wider context it's important to note that the benefits of changing one's gender in the UK aren't limited gaining tens of thousands of pounds or having five years extra off work, that's just the tip of the iceberg. On top of such incentives there's the prospect of getting into Parliament much more easily, significant help with your business, a promotion at work, exclusive leisure and educational facilities and even perhaps even a get out of jail free card too (and certainly a reduction on any sentence). The Timbrell case is a stark reminder of the discrimination faced by men today, despite many welcome signs and making some of the right noises in some areas, the fact is that the present government wishes to increase the pension gap rather than introducing equality.
In conclusion, I'd say it's fantastic that equality laws are used to help transsexuals, but how about actually using legislation to stop discrimination against those who are happy to remain as men too?
by John Kimble
http://www.dwp.gov.uk/policy/pensions-reform/latest-news/
Above link to gov plans to change pension age for men.
Posted by: Groan | Friday, 25 June 2010 at 09:04