This is an area I work in, but I haven't seen anything published in the industry (yet) so was wondering if anyone has come across it. I'm also not confident about raising it in work just in case!
When you have a pension fund, when you retire, you purchase a pension - a guaranteed income. The rates for this (annuity rates) depend on a few things - if the income will increase in payment, what is the increase rate, is there a guarantee period, a spouse's pension etc
Sex determines the rate also. As women live longer than men, the rate of guaranteed income that a woman gets, is less than a man of the same age. (huge amt of empirical evidence for this - there's a reason actuaries work in the insurance industry and are paid lots of money for complex calculations!)
So, what's stopping me from declaring just before retirement age that I am a man, and therefore should receive the male annuity rate?
I imagine that as this could cost pension providers a LOT of money, they will have an argument against it. Also, I can imagine that as this would result in a loss of income for TW purchasing an annuity, that some of them nearly all won't declare their TW status when purchasing their pension...