Military pensions considered for remarried widows

Image caption, Elizabeth Morris got a military pension after her husband's death but it pension was withdrawn when she remarried
  • Author, Kevin Sharkey
  • Role, 大象传媒 News NI

The government is considering "options" to address calls to restore military pensions to widows who remarried before 2015.

The Ministry of Defence has told 大象传媒 News NI that it is "sympathetic to the circumstances of widows who remarried, or cohabited, before 1 April 2015".

A spokesperson said they were "carefully considering the potential options".

The move could benefit widows of UDR soldiers killed during the Troubles.

Image source, PACEMAKER

Image caption, Ronnie and Elizabeth had three young children when he was killed

Part-time soldier Ronnie Finlay was shot dead by the IRA in County Tyrone in 1983.

He was leaving his civilian job at the former Adria factory in Strabane when he was attacked.

He was 32 and had three young children, aged between nine years and nine months.

UDR Widows

His widow Elizabeth Morris got a military pension after his death but, like many other UDR widows, the pension was withdrawn when she remarried.

She believes the decision was disrespectful to the memory of her husband.

She said: "To me, as I say, he was just a number. They didn't care, really, at the end of the day. He was just a number there.

"We deserve to have our pension back. We should never have lost the pension in the first place and I speak for a lot of widowed women who feel the same as myself."

A campaign by Mrs Morris and other UDR widows to have their pensions restored has similarities to a previous campaign by RUC widows.

Image source, Pacemaker

Image caption, UDR troops at Ballykinler in 1992

It was announced in 2014 that remarried widows of RUC officers would get their pensions back.

Lost pensions

Victims campaigners have told the 大象传媒 that other widows, across the UK, also lost their military pension when they remarried.

They included some whose husbands were in the regular army when they were killed in places like Northern Ireland, as well as the Falklands.

The Ministry of Defence said: "The government recognises the unique commitment that service families make to our country and remains sympathetic to the circumstances of those widows who remarried, or cohabited before 1 April 2015.

"However, this is a complex policy area and is taking time to carefully consider the potential options within both financial and legal constraints."

Mrs Morris has appealed to the government to "think again" and "take it very seriously this time and give us widows our pension back".