NY STATE PENSIONS TO GAY COUPLES MARRIED IN CANADA: From the New York Times

New York State is moving to officially recognize same-sex marriages from Canada for the first time, at least in one limited area: State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi has ruled that the state's pension system will treat gay couples with Canadian wedding licenses the same way it treats other married couples.

The decision came after Mark E. Daigneault, a state employee seeking to wed his male partner in Canada, wrote the comptroller's office asking what the financial implications of the marriage would be.

After studying the issue, Mr. Hevesi wrote back last week that the state's $115 billion pension funds, which he oversees, would ''recognize a same-sex Canadian marriage in the same manner as an opposite-sex New York marriage.'' While the practical impact of the decision is limited, gay rights groups hailed the move as a giant step toward winning wider recognition for gay marriages. ...

New York State already allows employees to make same-sex partners their pension beneficiaries; the comptroller's decision means that gay couples married in Canada would be entitled to automatic cost-of-living increases and accidental death benefits for survivors, benefits that currently go to spouses.

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posted by Eve at 6:26 PM | Link |

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