Justice for war widows

SIR – Dr Andrew Murrison, the Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families, announced in Parliament the offer of an £87,500 lump sum to war widow(er)s who had surrendered their pension on remarriage or cohabitation before the change in legislation in 2015 (report, May 18), which permitted the retention of the pension in such circumstances.

This association has been campaigning for many years for the reinstatement of the war widow’s pension to these individuals.

Throughout, the Ministry of Defence and the Treasury have held fast to the principle that the pension could not be reinstated. We now understand that the one-off payment offer is to be subject to income tax and, as a result, may be worth as little as £54,000. None the less, this will push recipients into a higher tax band for one year – possibly necessitating the submission of tax returns – and have an impact on pension tax credits, and potentially other benefits, in a way the war widow’s pension would not.

To tax this award – and to have not made clear in the announcement that this would happen – seems grossly misleading and unfair.

The MOD has relied upon the risk of creating a precedent if the award were to be made tax-free. But such a precedent has already been established with the award to Far East prisoners of war in 2000 and the introduction of a lump sum award for veterans suffering from life-limiting asbestos-related conditions.

There are further unanswered questions. What happens if the subsequent relationship ends? Is the pension reinstated? Is there an abatement against the lump sum?

We are seeking further discussions with the MOD and Treasury and we will press most strongly for the removal of the tax burden. We believe we have a strong argument against the use of “precedent” as a bar to making the award tax-free.

Moira Kane

Chairman, War Widows Association Dunfermline, Fife