WHY LATE-RELATIONSHIP MARRIAGES ARE ON THE RISE

After years spent happily together, more long-term couples than ever are now deciding to tie the knot.

‘Marriage brings security,’ says Barbara Bloomfield, counsellor at relationship support charity, Relate, who married her long-term partner, Ben, eight years ago after being together for 25 years. ‘As we grow older, we start to wonder what the future might hold, and what position we’d be left in if something happened to our partner.’

There are practical and emotional reasons for deciding to get married after many years together. ‘The main practical reason is about safeguarding your financial future,’ says Barbara. ‘For instance, not all employers will allow your partner to take your pension unless you are married.’ When a partner dies, married couples and those in civil partnerships can inherit their estate

completely tax free, and in 2007, a change to the rules also allowed them to transfer their unused tax-free threshold (currently £325,000) to each other on death, so the surviving spouse can pass on more of their estate tax free.

‘The emotional side is far more romantic,’ says Barbara. ‘A lot of women my age thought marriage was an outdated institution but we’ve softened as we’ve got older. Ben and I wanted to celebrate our long-term commitment, and it was lovely that our children were there to enjoy it with us. It’s a joyous thing to be standing there as two middle-aged people, promising to stick with each other and declaring that you still love each other.’

The number of brides and grooms aged 65 and over went up by 46% between 2004 and 2014.