A Bill to provide for the equal treatment of Forces widows' pensions in respect of retirement from military service for the periods before 1973 and between 1973 and 2005; and for connected purposes
Until 1973, the widow of a retired serviceman was entitled to a pension equal to one third of the pension their spouse had earned.In 1973, a number of improvements to the Armed Forces Pension Scheme were introduced, one of which was to increase the service widow’s pensions to half the spouse’s rate of pension. However, this improvement applied only to that part of the spouse’s pension earned by service on or after 31 March 1973.Key areasThe Bill would provide for armed forces pensions to be paid to surviving spouses and civil partners of deceased armed forces personnel who retired from service: (a) before 31 March 1973 and (b) between 31 March 1973 and 6 April 2005 to be calculated and paid on the same basis.
House of Commons
30 October 2008
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This Bill would ensure that widows’ and civil partners’ pensions for retired armed forces personnel are calculated and paid on the same basis, regardless of when the service ended (before 31 March 1973 or between 31 March 1973 and 6 April 2005). It addresses a historical difference created by the 1973 change, which only applied to service after that date. In short, it aims to provide equal treatment across these retirement periods.
The Bill is in the Commons and is at the second reading stage. It originated in the Commons and has completed its first reading, with the second reading taking place in early 2008.
Generated 21 February 2026
5 Dec 2007
1 Feb 2008
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
