§ Mr. Hicksasked the Minister for the Civil Service how many people would be involved and what would be the cost to the Exchequer of providing public service retirement pensions to any widow who married her husband after his retirement.
§ Mr. Charles R. MorrisThe number of widows of deceased public service pensioners whose marriages took place after their husbands had retired is not known and no estimate can therefore be made of the cost of providing them with pensions. In accordance with the contracting-out requirements of the Social Security Pensions Act 1975, public service pension schemes are, however, being amended to provide for the payment of pensions to widows of marriages that take place after the husband has retired or left with a preserved pension. These pensions will be based on the husband's contracted-out service from 6th April 1978 only; the immediate extra cost will therefore be small but will build up gradually as reckonable service increases.