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The dramatic U-turn was announced in Parliament on Tuesday. Over 300 eligible spouses are now expected to qualify for the cash after a lengthy battle for pension equality- backed by The Daily Express.<\/p>\n
War Widows Association Chair Moira Kane said members were \u2018delighted\u2019 at the news. She told the Express: \u201cThe ex gratis payment being offered to those who had to surrender their pension on remarriage or cohabitation will now be tax free.<\/p>\n
This means that each person will receive \u00a387,500. \u201cWe want to take this opportunity to thank all of our members and supporters who downloaded our letters outlining how unjust it would be to tax this payment.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese letters were then forwarded to their Member of Parliament and they in turn questioned the Ministry of Defence.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo amount of money makes up for the loss of your partner due to their service and this payment is not trying to do that. What it is doing is saying \u201c we have listened, and we understand and therefore we offer this as a form of recognition of your loss\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy thanks also go to the Daily Express who have kept our campaign in the public eye.” The WWA has been battling the injustice over pensions for eight years- pleading their case with successive Prime Ministers.<\/p>\n
Under the old rules, women \u2013 and they are mainly women – who lost their husbands as a result of service in the armed forces were stripped of their war widow\u2019s pensions if they remarried or cohabited with someone else.<\/p>\n
In April 2015 the law changed, and they were told they could keep the \u00a37,500-a-year if they found love again. But around 300 missed out as they had already wed for a second time and the law was not backdated as the Government insisted that that would set a precedent.<\/p>\n
READ MORE <\/strong> False widow outbreak: How to spot false widows<\/strong><\/p>\n Many widows died waiting for them to change their minds. The one-off payment of \u00a387,500 was finally announced in May but the dismayed widows were then told it would be taxed.<\/p>\n Tuesday\u2019s turnaround came after the Government acknowledged that remarriage or cohabiting with a new partner \u2018did not erase the bereavement\u2019.<\/p>\n News that it would not be tax free was revealed by Conservative MP Victoria Atkins, Financial Secretary to the Treasury.<\/p>\n She said: \u201dThe Government is today announcing that these payments will be exempt from income tax and National Insurance contributions.<\/p>\n \u201cThis will ease the administrative burden on recipients who are a specially designated group who benefit from a key principle of the Armed Forces Covenant, which recognises that special consideration should be made by the nation to those, such as the bereaved, who have given most in the service of our country.<\/p>\n \u201cWe reiterate our sincere condolences and gratitude to the widows and widowers who lost beloved partners in service.\u201d<\/p>\n Former WWA Chair Mary Moreland, said it was \u2018welcome news\u2019. \u201cWhile it doesn\u2019t give these ladies \u2018parity with their peers\u2019 it is in some small part recognition of their immense sacrifice.\u201d<\/p>\n She paid particular tribute to war widow Judith Howcroft, who \u2018worked with her local MP Victoria Atkins\u2019, saying: \u201cShe, in the face of many challenges is to be admired for her strength, tenacity and perseverance to bring this change about.\u201d<\/p>\n The Government estimates that 380 people will be eligible to apply for the scheme which will open before the end of the year. It will remain open for two years.<\/p>\n Don’t miss… <\/strong> We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you’ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info<\/p>\n Claire Mills was left alone with a six-month-old baby, \u00a34 in her purse and a string of debts when her first husband died in 1992.<\/p>\n Their daughter Louise is now 31 and about to get married in Scotland. So, Tuesday\u2019s decision couldn\u2019t \u2018t have come at a better time.<\/p>\n \u201cI hope I can now contribute to the cost of her dress,\u201d said Claire, 54. \u201cIf her dad\u2019s looking down, I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll be impressed that he can help with her wedding. It\u2019s amazing news.\u201d<\/p>\n Part-time shop worker Claire, from Chesterfield, Derbyshire, was just 22 when her Royal Navy veteran husband John Hemmings took his own life by gassing himself in the family car. They had only been married for two years.<\/p>\n The former Petty Officer suffered from PTSD from the Falklands War in which he served on HMS Coventry, a destroyer sunk by air attack.<\/p>\n Claire is now married to factory worker Dave, 50, who has brought Louise up since she was two years old. Yet when they wed, she lost any of the financial help she had previously been entitled to.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen I lost John, I got a war pension and a Navy pension, but everything stopped when I remarried \u2013 all I had for Louise was about \u00a315 a week.\u201d<\/p>\n Claire, now a mum of three, was ready to apply for the ex-gratia payment in May \u2013 but it was put on hold after news broke that it would be taxed.<\/p>\n \u201cThe paperwork has just been sitting there on the desk ever since,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s been a waiting game. The implications when it was taxed were horrendous.<\/p>\n \u201cLife is a struggle, and our mortgage payments have been going through the roof. This will help us a lot. It will make an amazing difference.\u201d<\/p>\n Judith Howcroft, 55, from Boston, Lincs, worked stalwartly behind the scenes to help win the campaign for justice. She writes: \u201cThis campaign began back in 2015 with a small group of ladies, who would not keep quiet about the injustice being faced by approx. 300 war widows.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was not until Mary Moreland became chair, that the association finally understood that the role of the WWA was to campaign properly on the behalf of \u201cThe 300\u201d. A term that would become synonymous with the campaign for justice.<\/p>\n \u201cUnder Mary\u2019s tenure, the association was able to achieve recognition from the MOD that something should be done, backing from cross party MPs was gained but fate always seemed to step in to halt momentum: change of party leader, general elections, Brexit and covid to name a few.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the support of a few MPs pressure was brought to bear on the MOD to agree to an ex-gratia payment.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, no decision had been agreed with the treasury. It was at this point I realised that my MP Victoria Atkins, who was not only a champion for women\u2019s rights and a supporter of the Military, was also a junior minister within the Treasury department.<\/p>\n \u201cAt the end of the day, we needed to speak directly to those who would have the power to make the decision. Victoria listened and understood the injustice of the current situation and agreed to ask questions on our behalf.<\/p>\n Shortly after that the announcement was made to give \u201cThe 300\u201d the ex-gratia payment but it would be taxed. Victoria quietly continued to argue the case to make it exempt.<\/p>\n It was her hard work that has brought us to the announcement that the payment would be exempt from tax.The positive impact this will have on all those affected is immense.<\/p>\n Victoria and her team should be so proud of what they have done. But I do not want to underestimate what the original group of ladies achieved.<\/p>\n Without them, we would not be where we are today. Angie, Gillian, Heather, Lynda, Margaret, Maureen, Shirley, and Mary are the real heroes of the day.<\/p>\n They never gave up the belief that one day some form of justice would be achieved. Though, we still do not have parity with our peers, at least we now feel heard and recognised.<\/p>\n I was widowed in 1998, when my husband Bill Vivian\u2019s F3 crashed on a training exercise. I was 6 months pregnant at the time and our son was just 6.<\/p>\n I will always remember that knock on the door. The moment when your world just explodes apart never leaves you. I was blessed that I had an amazing support network, led by my husband\u2019s squadron and the wives from the station. I met my future husband, Richie, 18 months later.<\/p>\n In 2002, we decided to take the next step and it was at that point I had to relinquish my war widow\u2019s pension. We were married in 2005.<\/p>\n He stepped into the role of being a dad to my two children and has raised them with me as if they were his own. I have been truly blessed to find love twice.<\/p>\n Both men strong individuals who represent all that is good: integrity, values, and a desire to serve their country and uphold all that is good.\u201d<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/141\/590x\/secondary\/4969208.jpg?r=1695220688819\")
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