Reason for disallowing widows pension

[Allan1892]

I have been looking at a soldier who died in a military hospital May 1920 (he was SWB in 1919) -- looking at the pension card on Fold3/WFA, the widow's claim for a pension was turned down, the card is endorsed: 'Late husband's PWES insufficient to qualify widow' -- can anyone tell me what PWES stands for? (snippet image courtesy of Fold3/WFA)

Edited 8 February , 2023 by Allan1892

[TullochArd]

"PWES" is the abbreviation for 'Pre-War Earnings' as in "Ineligible" as "late husband's PWES (Pre-War Earnings) insufficient to qualify widow" for a higher 'Alternative Pension'. 

There is a clause* where a widow could, to use modern jargon, "boost" her pension if she was married before the War/before her husband enlisted (whichever was latest) and she could prove that her War Widows Pension award (and all additional allowances) amounted to less than two thirds of her husband's pre-War earnings.  If her claim was successful then she would be awarded an Alternative Pension to match that figure rather than the usual War Widows Pension..

I strongly suspect that this card (and the refusal) refer to her application for a higher Alternative Pension based on her late husband's pre-War Earnings rather than a refusal of a basic War Widows Pension.

---------------------------

* The nearest I got to nailing this clause down was Para 2, Chapter 53 of the War Pensions (Administrative Provisions) Act 1919: Information from employers which now extends existing powers relating to the pre-war earnings of disabled servicemen to deceased serviceman:

"The power of the Minister of Pensions under section fourteen of the War Pensions (Administrative Provisions) Act, 1918, to require information from employers and others for the purpose of ascertaining the pre-war earnings of a disabled person, shall be extended so as to include power to require information for the purpose of ascertaining the earning capacity of any such person and for ascertaining the pre-war earnings of a deceased person, and it shall be the duty of employers, and of any other person having knowledge thereof, to furnish any such information, and that section shall have effect accordingly."

 

Edited 9 February , 2023 by TullochArd
Para 2, Chapter 53 of the War Pensions (Administrative Provisions) Act 1919

[ClaireP]

Allan, I just posted the same question, our paths crossed!  Seems I might have been right with PRE war not Post war.

The explanation I found (at least I think so) was "Any widow pensioned .... who makes application and shows that the minimum pension, with children's allowances (if any), which she has been granted is less than one-half of any alternative pension that might have been awarded to the deceased soldier had he survived, may be granted, in lieu of a minimum pension and children’s allowances, a pension which shall not exceed one-half of such deceased soldier's alternative pension. "

But I wasn't making much sense of it!

[TullochArd]

Although abandoned in 1920's the Great War anomaly of PWES (Pre-War Earnings) related Alternative Pensions was still being discussed in Parliament in 1954. 

Mrs. Redwood was not alone in losing out.

The following Hansard entry explains this rather unfair system and it's effect forty years on in raw numbers "Of the 93,000 widows of the 1914 war only 14,600 are receiving alternative pensions".  These numbers reflect widows who did not remarry as under the existing rules they would have lost their War Widows Pension and as such not be included here. 

 War Widows - Hansard - UK Parliament   

Edited 9 February , 2023 by TullochArd

[Allan1892]

@ClaireP -- yes, our paths did cross -- I wasn't able to check for replies last evening, I take it that you are Claire64 on another forum?

 

@TullochArd -- thank you for responding, I have never come across this before. As I have said before, 'every day a school day' 

[ClaireP]

Allan, yes that's me! I'm usually quite good at figuring things out but I had to admit defeat here.  So thanks to TullochArd for the information.  Now I know where to look, there are references everywhere!  I do love to learn a new fact!  Most of my research is about the local war memorials so I've not had much call to look into pensions, and was only doing so on a whim when my friend mentioned that his great grandma was denied one.  I can't resist a challenge.

Edited 9 February , 2023 by ClaireP

[Allan1892]

1 hour ago, ClaireP said:

Allan, yes that's me! I'm usually quite good at figuring things out but I had to admit defeat here.  So thanks to TullochArd for the information.  Now I know where to look, there are references everywhere!  I do love to learn a new fact!  Most of my research is about the local war memorials so I've not had much call to look into pensions, and was only doing so on a whim when my friend mentioned that his great grandma was denied one.  I can't resist a challenge.

@ClaireP -- Totally agree with you, I hate to be defeated that's why I asked the forum yesterday after I couldn't find an answer searching online (Mr Google was a total failure).

[ss002d6252]

23 hours ago, Allan1892 said:

I have been looking at a soldier who died in a military hospital May 1920 (he was SWB in 1919) -- looking at the pension card on Fold3/WFA, the widow's claim for a pension was turned down, the card is endorsed: 'Late husband's PWES insufficient to qualify widow' -- can anyone tell me what PWES stands for? (snippet image courtesy of Fold3/WFA)

There were a whole set of published instructions on the additional pension scheme. The widow's additional pension scheme itself was introduced under Articles 13 of the Royal Pension Warrant of 1917.

Pre War Earnings were only relevant for the additional pension application, but a widow could only claim for an alternative pension where there was entitlement to a 'normal' widow's pension. She would not qualify for the additional pension if the calculation from her husband's earnings would pay less than her 'normal' widow's pension (which is what I suspect has happened here).

Craig

[Allan1892]

Thanks Craig -- more knowledge to store away for future use

[Matlock1418]

On 08/02/2023 at 17:18, Allan1892 said:

I have been looking at a soldier who died in a military hospital May 1920 (he was SWB in 1919) -- looking at the pension card on Fold3/WFA, the widow's claim for a pension was turned down, the card is endorsed: 'Late husband's PWES insufficient to qualify widow' -- can anyone tell me what PWES stands for?

On 08/02/2023 at 21:13, ClaireP said:

The explanation I found (at least I think so) was "Any widow pensioned .... who makes application and shows that the minimum pension, with children's allowances (if any), which she has been granted is less than one-half of any alternative pension that might have been awarded to the deceased soldier had he survived, may be granted, in lieu of a minimum pension and children’s allowances, a pension which shall not exceed one-half of such deceased soldier's alternative pension. "

Alternative Pensions Widow's [APW] depended on PWE = based on the Alternative Pension [AP] to which a man would have been entitled, if he had lived with disability and been unable to earn - based on his PWE

APW:

1917 RW situation = One-half of the deceased soldier's potential AP

By the 1918 & 1919 RW = Two-thirds of the deceased soldier's potential AP

APW awarded if the minimum/'normal' widow and children's allowances totalled less than the APW calculated - otherwise remained on the standard minimum pension and allowances. I.e. whichever was the greater.

M

Edited 29 September , 2023 by Matlock1418