War widow's one-off pension payment could face legal challenge: SEFF

​The government’s one-off compensatory payment for those who lost their war widow’s pension when they remarried could yet be the subject of a legal challenge, according to one victims’ group.
By Mark Rainey
Published 1st Jun 2023, 19:08 BST
Updated 1st Jun 2023, 19:08 BST
A British army corporal lowers the Union flag during a ceremony at a British military base in Basra, Iraq in 2007A British army corporal lowers the Union flag during a ceremony at a British military base in Basra, Iraq in 2007
A British army corporal lowers the Union flag during a ceremony at a British military base in Basra, Iraq in 2007

Last month, the widow of a young soldier killed by the IRA in south Armagh welcomed the £87,500 payment, but said was regrettable that she and others had to fight for what was rightfully theirs.

Although the government changed the rules around widow’s pensions in April 2015, the new criteria denied the pension to Susan Rimmer (nee Lee) and anyone elso who had remarried prior to 2005.

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​SEFF has criticised the government for taxing the payment, and for not taking account of the amount of pension wrongly denied in each case.

A SEFF spokesperson said there is “no financial recognition of years where widows(ers) were without the pension,” and said that many of the 400 or so potential claimants – who are still relatively young – will continue continue to lose out as a result of the single payment.

“This is not an honourable outcome by Government, they’ve continued to disregard the legitimate rights of those who have had most taken from them in this nation.“Legal challenges may well need exploring because Government has refused to do the honourable thing – they have never done the optimum, they have done the absolute minimum they think they can get away with,” the spokesperson said.

Announcing the new payment last month, the government said: “The application window, open later this year, will remain open for two years with support for applicants provided by the Veterans UK Call Centre, and welfare support available through the Veterans Welfare Service”.

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The government has now clarified that the payment will be taxed, but said this had been taken into account when the figure of £87,500 was decided upon.

Also clarifying who will be eligible, the government said: “Payments will be made to those who forfeited their entitlement to a pension for a service attributable death prior to 2015 and have not had this pension restored through divorce or subsequent bereavement.

"Service attributable deaths include any death that was linked to service including as a result of illness or injury, it is not limited to deaths on military operations or exercises.”

Answering a number of frequently asked questions on the gov.uk website, an the MoD said: “There is nothing we can do to bring a loved one back, and no amount of money will ever change that. This payment is not intended to put a value on the widow’s loss. But this is a meaningful amount in recognition that remarriage or cohabiting with a new partner does not erase the bereavement.”

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In answer to the question, ‘why can’t you just reinstate the pensions for those who missed out when the rules were changed in 2015?” the government said: “Successive Governments have had a policy against retrospective changes to schemes.

"The rules were not unique to War Widows and the wider public sector implications had to be a valid consideration for Government”.