TRANSEXUALS could soon win more rights when it comes to claiming state pensions.

The Advocate General has given an opinion stating that the UK is in breach of EU law after hearing the case of transsexual Sarah Richards.

Ms Richards underwent gender reconstruction surgery in 2001 to become a woman.

In 2002, she applied to be paid her state pension from the age of 60, the correct age for a woman, but was refused by the Department of Work and Pensions on the grounds she was still male and should not be able to claim for another five years.

However, Advocate General Jacobs said Ms Richards should be compared to a female whose identity is not the result of gender reassignment surgery.

Howard Burns, partner at national law firm Rowe Cohen, said: "In this case, Ms Richards was denied her pension in circumstances where, if she was registered as female at birth, she would have been entitled to it.

"The alleged discrimination lies in the UK's failure to recognise transexual persons in his or her acquired gender on equal terms with persons recorded as of that gender at birth.

"The Advocate General considered that it is contrary to EU law for countries to refuse to grant a retirement pension before the age of 65 to a male-to-female transsexual where that person would have been entitled to a pension at the age of 60 had she been regarded as a woman as a matter of national law.

"The financial implications, such as arranging a will and tax planning, are enormous. It is still early days and we will have to see how the case develops."