MONEY
Justice for Ser now and for the fut
Those who are married now are very likely to be ‘widows in waiting’. Some will be affected who aren’t even married yet! I am sorry if that is brutal; but you need to wake up, smell the coffee and help us put this right. By Major General John Moore-Bick, General Secretary of the Forces Pension Society.
O
ver the next 40 years, the vast majority of Armed Forces widows in receipt of a pension will
have it confiscated on cohabitation or remarriage. How can this be in the 21st Century? It comes about from rules of the 1950’s and 60’s when a woman was treated as financially dependent on and the total responsibility of her husband. It affects all of you who have a husband on the AFPS 75 pension scheme. And, like your sisters before you, you may never find out about it until it the moment it hurts the hardest: when recovering after tragedy and you find new hope and companionship.
The Forces Pension Society and the Royal British Legion, together with all of the other Cobseo Executive Committee members believe that the introduction of a new Armed Forces pension scheme in April 2105 is the once in a generation chance to get rid of this
evil practice, which makes Service widows choose between their often very small, but vital, pension and a new love.
It was hoped that amicable joint work under the guidance of ministers, but now rejected, would find a solution. At £250K a year, the costs are not great, especially in the light of the Armed Forces pension bill of £5Bn a year. The recent refusal to countenance such a change in the rules, on the basis that other public sectors pension schemes have similar rules, flies in the face of the much vaunted Armed Forces Covenant and the experience of Service families. They are generally subjected to frequent turbulence, family upheaval and house moves which prevent a wife from following her own career or taking a steady job. Widows of such Service marriages often end up with no occupational pension, no private pension and at best an inadequate state pension through patchy national insurance payments.
This is not an old peoples’ problem. Over half of those currently in the Services are, and will, be affected by these rules until 2050 unless something is done. We do not condone rule-breaking, but the current intolerable situation, with ‘cohabiting’ widows being arrested, charged with fraud, and even imprisoned, must not go on until next year, let alone 2050. Those who are married now are very likely to be ‘Widows in Waiting’. Some will be affected who aren’t even married yet! I am sorry if that is brutal; but you need to wake up, smell the coffee and help us put this right.
We call upon the Government to be serious in attending to this challenge, to lift it from the dead hand of Treasury officials
in Whitehall and transfer it to the hands of politicians in Westminster, politicians under the leadership of a Chancellor and Prime Minister who have come into office promising the Fairest Government Yet. We see no evidence of that; none whatsoever, and we need to work together to get this changed NOW.
So what are we doing? • We have briefed our Vice Presidents and stimulated a lively debate in the House of Lords.
• We are sounding out the views of all MPs, particularly in marginal constituencies and will make this an election issue if needs be.
• We are initiating a coordinated write- in to MPs seeking their support for an Early Day Motion, starting with our next e-newsletter to orientate and provide key messages. This will be repeated via Pennant magazine in May. Please do this! We will give you the words.
• We are conducting a steady press and media campaign and have received sympathetic interest from national newspapers and TV channels.
• We are gathering support for an open letter from the Chairman and many influential leaders of British society to the Chancellor.
• We are assembling a portfolio of personal stories. Please contact us if you are a solitary forces widow or you know anyone who is. Their story may help our campaign.
• We have had discussions with all the party Defence teams and plan talks with their manifesto writers.
• Our regular Pennant interview will be with Nigel Farage and will cover this issue amongst others.
• We are gathering support from MPs to initiate an Early Day Motion with cross- party support.
www.raf-ff.org.uk
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