Army pensions

[taylorsearcher]

Two simple, although maybe naive questions:-

 

Having been granted a pension, would the pension be payable until their death - in the case of a wife / widow?

Again, having been granted a dependant’s pension (common law ‘partner’ with (illegitimate) children) would that pension be payable until death or later marrying ?

 

 

[rolt968]

Craig is the expert and I am sure will supply fuller answers.

 

As far as I understand a widow's pension continued for life or until she remarried. If she remarried the pension would stop but she would receive a final gratuity.  Pensions for individual children continued, but it is worth looking at the discussion elsewhere in the forum about separation allowances and children's pensions.

 

I would assume that if a "common law" wife received a pension as a widow the same rules applied.

 

RM

[JasonMc]

In my own family's case as far as I was aware my great grandfather's widow received a pension until her death - she never remarried.

5 of the 6 children received them until they married or were working and no longer dependent on him.

However one great aunt never married, or was employed, and received a small pension until her death in the 1990s. 

The Irish state pension at the time of her death was a little over £100 irish punt and she received about £15 sterling extra from the dependents pension every week until her death.

 

All the children had a payment made towards their education also and two who had to move to Australia in their early teens with health issues had passage to Australia paid for.

My great aunt also had a visit from the British Legion around Christmas each year until her death and often brought a blanket, stockings or chocolate as a present.

In its entirety it was an amazing act of care to the descendants that I doubt would be repeated in future conflicts anywhere in the world.

[KernelPanic]

4 hours ago, JasonMc said:

In my own family's case as far as I was aware my great grandfather's widow received a pension until her death - she never remarried. ...

 

And the same for my great grandmother. She received a war widow's pension upon the death of my GGF in 1938, and it continued for her until her death in the early 70s.

[taylorsearcher]

Thanks to those above.

 

RM: I thought that payments in relation to dependant children did not happen if they were already sixteen years old and stopped - for those that were younger - when they reached that age.  I have Pension Card that shows that situation, that is it does not mention ‘older’ children that I know were living at the time; and shows an expiry date for the two that qualified.

Jason: The widow in question never re-married, so I assume she continued to receive the payments until death.

 

Rolt: There appeared to be a specified expiry date on the ‘common law’ widow, who in any case did remarry.

 

 

[Matlock1418]

2 hours ago, taylorsearcher said:

I thought that payments in relation to dependant children did not happen if they were already sixteen years old and stopped - for those that were younger - when they reached that age.

That was/is my current my interpretation.

Might there have been a possibility of an "Alternative Pension" for older (and getting older) dependant children if there were special circumstances - e.g. disability ???

Hopefully Craig (please!) will pop up and put us right! ;-)

:-) M

Edited 20 November , 2019 by Matlock1418

[rolt968]

2 hours ago, taylorsearcher said:

Thanks to those above.

 

RM: I thought that payments in relation to dependant children did not happen if they were already sixteen years old and stopped - for those that were younger - when they reached that age.  I have Pension Card that shows that situation, that is it does not mention ‘older’ children that I know were living at the time; and shows an expiry date for the two that qualified.

Jason: The widow in question never re-married, so I assume she continued to receive the payments until death.

 

Rolt: There appeared to be a specified expiry date on the ‘common law’ widow, who in any case did remarry.

 

 

Apologies! I left out any mention of children. Certainly all the pensions for children that I have seen ended when they were sixteen or went to military establishments like Queen Victoria School.

RM

[Retlaw]

2 hours ago, taylorsearcher said:

Thanks to those above.

 

RM: I thought that payments in relation to dependant children did not happen if they were already sixteen years old and stopped - for those that were younger - when they reached that age.  I have Pension Card that shows that situation, that is it does not mention ‘older’ children that I know were living at the time; and shows an expiry date for the two that qualified.

Jason: The widow in question never re-married, so I assume she continued to receive the payments until death.

 

Rolt: There appeared to be a specified expiry date on the ‘common law’ widow, who in any case did remarry.

 

 

From what I've seen on the many 1000s of service records I've down loaded, it is 14 years of age for boys when payments ceased, I still can't get my head round why there is such a difference in widows pensions, some as low as 13s-6d, others over 18s, surely there was a standard rate for a privates widow irrespective of children.

Australians paid better, and I even found some mothers qualified fo  a pension,

Edited 20 November , 2019 by Retlaw

[Matlock1418]

27 minutes ago, Retlaw said:

it is 14 years of age for boys when payments ceased

I query that for pensions for children, but you have seen what you have seen

 

26 minutes ago, Retlaw said:

mothers qualified fo  a pension,

Yes that seems to have happened - Think that was if there was no other more worthy person qualifying for dependency - mothers can easily be dependent on a son

 

Craig will be able to explain the rest I'm sure.

 

For those interested in reading more the following might be a good read [even if not a riveting read - 'Killer' in my eyes!]

"War Pensions and Allowances" by Hogge and Garside

https://archive.org/details/thewarpensionsallow00hoggrich/page/n6 - enjoy! ;-)