Justin Welby asks PM to pay war widows their 'rightful pension'

Written by David Fletcher 23 Sep 2021
Justin Welby asks PM to pay war widows their 'rightful pension'

The Archbishop of Canterbury has called on the government to ‘put right’ the fact that a group of war widows who remarried after the deaths of their husbands, are not allowed to claim their pensions. He said, ‘One of the Bible's strongest, clearest, and most often repeated commands is to care for and honour the widow. The plight of the war widows who are not able to receive their military pensions is a very great wrong. To find love and happiness again after such loss and heartbreak only to be denied their rightful pension, and for many their means of living, leaves them in a cruel and unjustifiable situation and facing unbearable decisions. It must be put right.’ In 2015, changes were introduced and all who qualified would receive the pension for life. But the changes were not applied retrospectively, leaving around 200 women unable to claim the money.

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