Widowed Mother's Allowance was part of the United Kingdom system of Social Security benefits. It was established under the

National Insurance Act 1946 The National Insurance Act 1946 (c 67) was a British Act of Parliament passed during the Attlee ministry which established a comprehensive system of social security throughout the United Kingdom. The act meant that all who were of working age wer ...

and abolished and replaced by

Widowed Parent's Allowance Widowed Parent's Allowance is a benefit under the United Kingdom Social Security system. Entitlement It replaced Widowed Mother's Allowance in 2001 as part of the process of removing sex discrimination from the Social Security system. It is avai ...

in 2001.

William Beveridge William Henry Beveridge, 1st Baron Beveridge, (5 March 1879 – 16 March 1963) was a British economist and Liberal politician who was a progressive and social reformer who played a central role in designing the British welfare state. His 194 ...

's view was: "There is no reason why a childless widow should get a pension for life; if she is able to work, she should work. On the other hand, provision much better than at present should be made for those who, because they have the care of children, cannot work for gain or cannot work regularly".

Main conditions

The widow had to be receiving

Child Benefit Child benefit or children's allowance is a social security payment which is distributed to the parents or guardians of children, teenagers and in some cases, young adults. A number of countries operate different versions of the program. In most co ...

for a child who was either hers and her late husband's, or a child the husband was entitled to Child Benefit for before his death, or a child of hers by an earlier marriage which ended by her being widowed, if she was living with her late husband when he died, or she was expecting a child of her late husband's (a child conceived by artificial insemination counts if she was living with her husband after that), Or a person under 19 lives with her who would fit into the previous category, but didn't get Child Benefit at the time because he or she was abroad when the husband died. The amount was £77.45 a week in 2004 if the husband's contribution record was sufficient. It was possible to get a reduced rate of benefit and an earnings-related component. The benefit lasted as long as the children qualified her for it. The main benefit was taxable but the increase for children wasn't. The husband must have paid at least 52 times the minimum

National Insurance contributions National Insurance (NI) is a fundamental component of the welfare state in the United Kingdom. It acts as a form of social security, since payment of NI contributions establishes entitlement to certain state benefits for workers and their famil ...

in any tax year before he died, and he must have paid contributions for sufficient years out of his working life. It was taken into account in full for all benefits. There was an addition of £11.35 a week for each child after the first, for whom £9.55 was payable.

References

Social security in the United Kingdom Widowhood in the United Kingdom {{death-stub

Main conditions

See also

References