MONEY
rvice Widows ture
• We have several Freedom of Information requests ready to delve into the costs and intrusive processes involved. How much does it cost to arrest a widow at 4am in the morning with four policemen and a BMW?
But you must play your part and understand the issue, so that you can speak on it with knowledge and feeling, because it may affect you and it will affect many of those around you.
The following anonymised case studies illustrating the problem are all current and drawn from across all three Services.
Arrested at 4am. “I was woken up by the MoD police knocking on my door. I had four officers in my house, one of them read me my rights and told me he was arresting me for two counts of fraud and one for money laundering. I was shocked to my core, as I really wasn’t aware that I had done anything out of place. I was taken by car to a police station where I was formally arrested, searched and booked in, then held in a cell. Once a duty solicitor arrived he told me why I was there”.
My husband was killed in a road traffic accident: X’s husband served for 15 years. Both were in their mid 30s when he was killed in a road traffic accident. They had four young children. She received a widows’ pension, but as her husband’s death was ‘unattributable’ (to the Service), she would lose it on cohabitation or marriage. Five years on, she met somebody else who proposed to her. Her family were very pleased for her, as were her late husband’s. After thinking about getting married and the long term future, it was obvious that financially this was not possible. She states:
“My circumstances now are controlled by the fact that I would be disadvantaged if I wanted to re- marry or co-habit with someone. This seems unfair – it’s not just my future happiness, I was young when I was widowed, but the fact that my children are potentially missing out from being able to benefit from a more settled
www.raf-ff.org.uk
family life, with both a mother and stepfather.”
My husband was killed in an accident at work: Contrast this with a similar case of a husband killed in an accident at work. This made the accident ‘attributable’ (to service). Because of this, the second widow receives a widows’ pension and is free to remarry without penalty. She states:
“
Although X and I were widowed in similar circumstances within 6 months of each other, our pension awards and therefore enforced situation is very different.”
Condemned to a lonely old age: B states: I am now 61 years old and the widow of a Warrant Officer who retired with 23 years service. I travelled the world with my husband – my three children were all born in different countries. My husband always said he would not have achieved so much if I had not always been at his side. When as a staff sergeant he was awarded the BEM he said it was something I had supported him in achieving. During my husband’s service I was unable to pursue a career. I have found the loneliness of widowhood very hard to bear and four years ago I met a man who has become very important to me. When we met he was already retired and separated from his wife who lives abroad. We would now like to live together but the prospect of losing my service pension is preventing this. He will eventually have to pension share on divorce and would not be able to support me financially. For that reason we have decided that living together is not an option. I feel condemned to a lonely old age.
Cruelly taken by cancer at 48: Jane’s husband died of cancer when she was 48. She is now in her late 50s. She receives a widow’s pension but would lose it on cohabitation. She has in the past been faced with the dilemma of having to surrender her pension on remarriage or cohabitation and chose not to marry. She knows other people who are suffering from the cruel pension rule and are forced to make ‘back door visits’. In her words: “These rules force people to make decisions they should not
have to make.” Knowing the consequences of falling in love, she no longer risks it. She feels constrained in company, is often withdrawn and avoids social contact. She now prefers female company because it does not threaten her with the prospect of making an awful decision.
Both in the service: Sara married aged 28. Her husband was in the RAF. She was in the Army, but left it to be with him. He died at the age of 44 after a long and debilitating illness, working in the RAF right up until his death. She receives a widow’s pension but would lose it on cohabitation or marriage. Seven years have now passed since he died. She did meet someone with who she would have been very happy, but on telling him of the widow’s pension and how she would lose it if she co-habited or married, he decided that he could not be responsible for her loss of her income. She now feels that she is doomed at a relatively young age to be single and alone. Knowing this has caused her depression and sadness. She is very reluctant to start a relationship and she also fears losing another person. “Couples days” like Christmas, Valentine’s Day and birthdays are particularly painful, as they emphasise her predicament – leaving her with a feeling of isolation and dread of a normal relationship with a man. Her pension is worth £520 a month and represents a substantial proportion of her income.
Envoy Spring 2014 47
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