Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what steps he is taking to enable war widows who remarried between 1973 and 2005 to keep their pensions.

We have decided to change both the Armed Forces Pension Scheme 75 (AFPS75) and the War Pension Scheme (WPS). The changes we have made will ensure that from 1 April 2015, widows, widowers and surviving civil partners of all members of the Armed Forces Pension Scheme will now retain their pensions for life, fulfilling the Government's ongoing commitment to the Armed Forces Covenant.

From 1 April 2015 the spouse or civil partner of all members of AFPS75 and any WPS widows will retain their pension for life if they have not already surrendered it due to remarriage or cohabitation.

For those who have already surrendered their pension due to remarriage or cohabitation, should that relationship end they can apply to have their pension restored for life.