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
The Bill would level up the way widows’ pensions are calculated for surviving spouses and civil partners of armed forces personnel who retired either before 31 March 1973 or between 31 March 1973 and 6 April 2005. At present, the 1973 pension change lifted the rate for service earned after that date, but only for that portion, creating different treatment for the two groups. The Bill aims to have both periods paid on the same basis.
The Bill is at the 2nd reading stage in the House of Commons, so it is early in the legislative process and has not yet become law.
Generated 21 February 2026
No recorded votes for this bill yet.
