There has long been a loophole in the
pension system meaning military widows lose their pension if and when they
remarry. However, this rule is to be changed from April 2015, meaning those who
remarry will be entitled to the pension for life. We’ve provided you with as
much information as possible on this news below.
What does this mean?
Thousands of war widows who remarry will
no longer face an effective financial penalty under new plans to be set out by
David Cameron, the prime minister, on Saturday. The current system, which
applies to anyone whose partner started claiming a
military pension between 1973 and 2005, will be scrapped from April next year.
As of April 2015, those who already receive a survivor's pension will be
allowed to keep their pension for life if they do remarry, cohabit or form a
civil partnership. Around 4,000 people - mostly widows - will benefit from the
changes. They are those who lost loved ones serving between 1973 and 2005 -
women whose partners died or were killed during the Troubles in Northern
Ireland, or the wars in the Falklands and Iraq.
One noteworthy point is that the policy
is not retrospective and it will only apply to those who remarry on or after
April 1 next year. The cost of service pensions to those who remarry or find
new partners will be about £120m over the next 40 years.
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