Help for friend receiving only 66p pension

EdInvestor

Robert_Sterling wrote: »

I think the idea of opting for a married woman's stamp was that the husband was the bread winner.

Indeed.The female state pension starting at 60 but with none of the male pension's bells and whistles (eg spouse,dependant, divorcee,widow's pensions, etc) makes a lot more sense when you consider that it would have been aimed at unmarried spinsters, who would have been the only women with a "proper job" in those days.

It also explains why the married woman's pension is only available when the man reaches 65, not at the proper (working) women's retirement age of 60.It is assumed that married women did not work (either formally or informally).

The changes starting next year do reflect a dramatic change in social attitudes over the past 50 years.

margaretclare

Robert_Sterling wrote: »

I think the idea of opting for a married woman's stamp was that the husband was the bread winner.

Well, wasn't that what I just said?

This 'idea' defied reality in many cases, but even when a married woman worked and was 'winning bread' as well as the husband, her essential and valuable contribution was denigrated, sneered at, belittled, and called 'pin money'.