Providing income for your widow
I have recently discovered that widow’s pensions have virtually been abolished in UK, if the widow is under UK pension age.
A person under 59 at the time if the death of her husband gets a reduced amount (on a sliding scale) for each year they are aged under 59. In any case the payment will be a bereavement benefit max £2,000 and max two years pension. After that the widow will need to wait until she is pension age (my wife born 1971 means when she is 65) before she can draw a permanent pension.
Faced with this, I wonder how those affected have planned to protect their surviving wife. Of course if you live in UK there is always Social Security benefits for the very poor. As we live in Spain we don’t have that. I am still seeking a best option.
I should be interested to hear what others have done to overcome this problem, and I am sure any advice will be helpful to many.
John
PS Having looked at several web sites and called a couple offices, I am not sure that the ages I have quoted are 100% accurate but the gist of what I have said is correct.
