
1 

(1) These regulations may be cited as the
Social Security (Benefit) (Married Women and Widows Special Provisions) Regulations
1974, and shall come into operation on 6th April 1975.
(2) In these regulations, unless the context
otherwise requires—
 “the Act”
means the Social Security
Act 1973;
 “the Industrial Injuries Act”
 means the 
National Insurance (Industrial Injuries) Act 1965;

 “appropriate weekly rate”
 means , in relation to any benefit,
the weekly rate of personal benefit by way of benefit of that description
which is appropriate in the case of the person in relation to whom the provision
containing that expression is to be applied;
 “the determining authority”
 means , as the case may require, the
Chief National Insurance Commissioner appointed under 
section 87 of the Act or any other National
Insurance Commissioner so appointed or any tribunal constituted under 
sub-section (2) of that section, a local tribunal
constituted under section 77
 of the National Insurance Act 1965
 as amended by 
section 84(6) of, and Schedule 21
to, the Act or an insurance officer appointed under 
section 68(1) of the National Insurance
Act 1965 as so amended;
 “marriage” includes any remarriage, and the word “married”, wherever it occurs , shall be construed accordingly;
 “personal benefit”
means that benefit, pension or allowance (whether under
the Act or otherwise) which, apart from the provisions of regulations made
under paragraph 3 of Schedule 10
to the Act (overlapping benefits), is payable to a person otherwise than in
respect of another person who is a child or an adult dependant;
 “Personal Injuries Scheme”
 means any scheme made under the Personal Injuries (Emergency Provisions)
Act 1939 or under the 
Pensions (Navy, Army, Air Force and Mercantile Marine) Act 1939;

 “reckonable year”, for the purposes of the contribution conditions for any benefit,
means an income tax year in which the contributor concerned has paid or been
credited with contributions of a relevant class and in which the earnings
factor derived from those contributions amounts to not less than that year's
lower earnings limit multiplied by 50;
 “Service Pensions Instrument”
 means those provisions and only those
provisions of any Royal Warrant, Order in Council or other instrument (not
being a 1914-1918 War Injuries Scheme)
under which a death or a disablement pension (not including a pension calculated
by reference to length of service) and allowances for dependants payable with
either such pension may be paid out of public funds in respect of any death
or disablement, wound, injury or disease due to service in the naval, military
or air forces of the Crown or in any nursing service or other auxiliary service
of any of the said forces or in the Home Guard or in any other organisation
established under the control of the Defence Council or formerly established
under the control of the Admiralty, the Army Council or the Air Council;
 “1914-1918 War Injuries Scheme”
 means any scheme made under the Injuries in War (Compensation) Act 1914
 or under the 
Injuries in War Compensation Act 1914 (Session 2)
or any Government scheme for compensation in respect of persons injured in
any merchant ship or fishing vessel as the result of hostilities during the
1914-1918 War;
 “year”
means an income tax year;and other expressions have the same meanings as in the Act.
(3) References in these regulations to any
enactment or regulations shall, except in so far as the context otherwise
requires, be construed as references to such enactment or regulations as amended
or extended by or under any other enactment, order or regulations and as including
references to any enactment or regulations thereby consolidated.
(4) The rules for the construction of Acts
of Parliament contained in the 
Interpretation Act 1889 shall apply for the
purposes of the interpretation of these regulations as they apply for the
purposes of the interpretation of an Act of Parliament.
2 
Where a woman's marriage has been terminated by the death of her
husband or otherwise, and she has in respect of any one year (not being a
year before that in which the marriage took place, and being either the last
year before that in which the marriage was terminated or any subsequent year)
paid Class 1 or Class 2 contributions or both, and the earnings factor derived
from those contributions is not less than that year's lower earnings limit
multiplied by 25, there shall be credited to her, in respect of any year during
the whole or any part of which the marriage subsisted, and for the purpose
only of enabling her to satisfy the second contribution condition for unemployment
and sickness benefit or maternity allowance referred to in 
paragraph 1 or 3,
as the case may be, of Schedule 3
to the Act, such Class 1 contributions (if any) as are required to enable
her to satisfy that condition, so however that she shall not be entitled by
virtue of this provision to benefit in respect of any period before the marriage
was terminated or before she paid contributions as aforesaid.
3 

(1) Subject to the following provisions of
this regulation, where, otherwise than by reason of remarriage or cohabitation
with a man as his wife, a woman ceases to be entitled either to a widow's
allowance or to a widowed mother's allowance—
(a) she shall be deemed to have satisfied
the first contribution condition for unemployment and sickness benefit, maternity
allowance or a Category A retirement pension referred to in 
paragraph 1, 3
or 5, as the case may be, of 
Schedule 3 to the Act;
(b) for the purposes only of enabling her
to satisfy the second contribution condition for unemployment and sickness
benefit or maternity allowance referred to in 
paragraph 1 or 3,
as the case may be, of Schedule 3
to the Act, there shall be credited to her such Class 1 contributions (if
any) for every year up to and including that in which she ceased to be entitled
as aforesaid as are required to enable her to satisfy that condition; and

(c) for the purposes of the provisions of 
section 13(1) of the Act (exhaustion of, and
requalification for, unemployment benefit) if the day on which she ceases
to be entitled as aforesaid falls during a period of interruption of employment,
any part of that period before that day shall be left out of account and,
if on that day her right to unemployment benefit is exhausted, she shall be
deemed to have requalified therefor on that day.
(2) When a husband who is entitled to a Category
C retirement pension dies and his wife has not attained pensionable age, the
provisions of paragraph (1)
of this regulation shall, subject to paragraph
(6), apply to the widow as if she had then
ceased to be entitled to a widow's allowance.
(3) Where a woman ceases to be entitled to
a widowed mother's allowance as is mentioned in 
paragraph (1) of this regulation at a time
when she is entitled to personal benefit by way of a widow's pension under
the Industrial Injuries Act or any Personal Injuries
Scheme or any Service Pensions Instrument or
any 1914-1918 War Injuries Scheme
at a weekly rate which is equal to or exceeds the weekly rate of widow's pension
under the Act which is specified in the second column of 
Part I of Schedule 4 thereto, and thereafter
that personal benefit, while continuing to be payable, falls to be reduced
to a weekly rate which is less than the said weekly rate of widow's pension
under the Act, paragraph (1)
of this regulation shall apply to her both when she so ceases and when that
personal benefit so falls to be reduced.
(4) In relation to a widow who, at her husband's
death, would be entitled to a widow's allowance but for the fact that the
conditions for a widow's allowance specified in 
section 19(1)(a) of the Act are not satisfied, 
paragraph (1)(a) of this regulation shall,
subject to the provisions of paragraph (6)
of this regulation and so far only as it relates to a Category A retirement
pension, apply as if she had then ceased to be entitled to a widow's allowance.

(5) Subject to 
paragraph (9) of this regulation, where a woman
is entitled to personal benefit by way of a widow's pension under the Industrial
Injuries Act or any Personal Injuries Scheme
 or any Service Pensions Instrument or any 
1914-1918 War Injuries Scheme—
(a) if the weekly rate of that personal benefit
is equal to or exceeds the appropriate weekly rate of unemployment benefit
or sickness benefit or maternity allowance, the provisions of sub-paragraphs (a) to (c) of paragraph (1)
of this regulation shall not operate to entitled her to unemployment benefit
or sickness benefit or maternity allowance for any period before she has satisfied
the following contribution condition, namely that she has, in respect of any
one year beginning after her husband's, or as the case may be her last husband's,
death, paid Class 1 or Class 2 contributions or both, and the earnings factor
derived from those contributions is not less than that year's lower earnings
limit multiplied by 25; and
(b) if the weekly rate of that personal benefit
is less than the said appropriate weekly rate, the said provisions shall not
operate to entitle her to unemployment benefit or sickness benefit or maternity
allowance, for any period such as is mentioned in the last foregoing sub-paragraph,
at a weekly rate which exceeds the difference between the said appropriate
weekly rate and the weekly rate of that personal benefit.
(6) For the purposes of a Category A retirement
pension, the provisions of sub-paragraph (a)
of paragraph (1) of this regulation—

(a) shall not, in the case of a woman who,
having ceased to be entitled as is mentioned in that paragraph, remarries
before she attains pensionable age, apply by reason of her ceasing to be entitled
as aforesaid before her remarriage;
(b) shall not apply in the case of a woman
who is entitled when she attains pensionable age to personal benefit by way
of a widow's pension under the Industrial Injuries Act or any 
Personal Injuries Scheme or any Service Pensions
Instrument or any 1914-1918 War Injuries Scheme
 at a weekly rate which is equal to or exceeds
the weekly rate of widow's pension under the Act which is specified in the
second column of Part I of Schedule 4
thereto; and
(c) shall not operate, in the case of any
other woman who is entitled when she attains pensionable age to such personal
benefit as aforesaid, to entitle her to a retirement pension at a weekly rate
which exceeds the difference between the weekly rate of widow's pension under
the Act which is so specified and the weekly rate of that personal benefit:
Provided that a woman affected by 
sub-paragraph (b) or sub-paragraph
(c) of this paragraph shall cease to be so
affected if and when she remarries.
(7) For the purpose of determining whether
a woman ceases to be entitled as is mentioned in 
paragraph (1) of this regulation, a woman in
whose case the Secretary of State is satisfied that she would be or would
have been entitled to widow's benefit for any period but for any one or more
of the following factors, namely—
(a) her failure to make, or delay in making,
a claim to the benefit;
(b) her disqualification for the receipt
of benefit for any other reason than her cohabitation with a man as his wife;

(c) the operation of the provisions of regulations
made under paragraph 3 of Schedule 10
to the Act (overlapping benefits);shall be treated as if she is or was, as the case may be, entitled
thereto throughout that period.
(8) For the purpose of determining whether
a woman would be entitled to a widow's allowance but for the fact mentioned
in paragraph (4)
of this regulation, a woman in whose case the Secretary of State is satisfied
that she would be so entitled but for that fact and for any one or more of
the factors mentioned in paragraph (7)
of this regulation shall be treated as if she would be so entitled but for
that fact.
(9) A woman who ceases to be entitled as
is mentioned in paragraph (1)
of this regulation on more than one occasion shall be entitled to the benefit
of the provisions of that paragraph, subject as therein mentioned, on each
such occasion, and if, on one such occasion, she satisfies the contribution
condition referred to in paragraph (5)(a)
of this regulation, that paragraph shall not apply to her on any subsequent
occasion.
(10) Where, but for this paragraph, the provisions
of regulation 2
of these regulations and the provisions of this regulation would be applicable
for the purpose of determining a woman's right to unemployment benefit or
sickness benefit or maternity allowance for any day, her right thereto shall
be determined by reference to the provisions of that one of those 2 regulations
which is more favourable to her, to the exclusion of the provisions of the
other.
4 

(1) Where a woman's marriage (being, in the
case of a woman who has been married more than once, her last marriage before
attaining pensionable age) has been terminated otherwise than by the death
of her husband and she was under pensionable age on the date of that termination,
and she does not with her own contributions satisfy the second contribution
condition for a Category A retirement pension specified in 
paragraph 5 of Schedule 3 to the Act, then
the contributions of her husband (being, if she has been married more than
once, her last husband) may, to the extent provided by the Schedule to these
regulations, be treated as if they were contributions of her own.
(2) Where a woman's last or only marriage
has been terminated otherwise than by death and she was not under pensionable
age on the date of that termination, she shall, subject to the provisions
of the Act, be entitled to a Category B retirement pension as if her husband
by that marriage had died on the date of that termination.
(3) A woman whose last or only marriage has
been terminated otherwise than by death and who was under pensionable age
on the date of that termination shall, for the purpose of her right to a Category
A retirement pension, be deemed to have satisfied the first contribution condition
specified in paragraph 5 of Schedule 3
to the Act if, at the date of that termination, her husband by that marriage
had satisfied it.
5 
Where a woman, whose last or only marriage was terminated otherwise
than by the death of her husband, dies and the contribution condition for
a death grant in respect of her death (specified in 
paragraph 7 of Schedule 3 to the Act) is not
satisfied by her, she shall be deemed to have satisfied that condition if
her husband by that marriage had satisfied it in respect of any year falling
wholly before either the date of the termination of that marriage or the date
of his attaining pensionable age, whichever is the earlier.
6 

(1) In respect of the whole of any year such
as is described in paragraph (2)
of this regulation there shall be credited to a woman such Class 3 contributions
(if any) as are necessary to enable her to acquire the requisite earnings
factor for the year in question for entitlement to any benefit set out in 
section 9(4) of the Act for which Class 3 contributions
are relevant.
(2) Paragraph
(1) of this regulation applies—
(a) where the woman has been widowed after
6th October 1974 but before 6th April 1975, to the year beginning on 6th April
1975;
(b) where the woman has been widowed after
5th April 1975, to the year in which her husband died, and, where he died
after 30th September in any year, to the next year;
(c) where the woman has been widowed and
at the end of the period of one or 2 years specified in 
sub-paragraph (a) or (b)
of this paragraph there is pending a claim or application made by the woman
as a widow within 182 days (including Sundays) of her husband's death for
any benefit specified in 
regulation 2(5) of the Social Security
(Contributions) (Married Women and Widows Special Provisions) Regulations
1973,
to any year subsequent to the year or years specified in 
sub-paragraph (a) or (b)
of this paragraph but not later than the year in which that claim or application
is determined;
(d) to any year during any part of which
a widow's benefit (other than a widow's pension payable at a rate reduced
under section 21(2)
of the Act) or benefit under section 27(4)
of the Act corresponding to a widow's pension or a widowed mother's allowance
is payable to her as a widow;
(e) for the purpose of a claim by the woman
to a Category A retirement pension, to any year during any part of which a
widow's benefit (other than a widow's pension payable at a rate reduced under 
section 21(2) of the Act) or benefit under 
section 27(4) of the Act corresponding to a
widow's pension or a widowed mother's allowance would have been payable to
her as a widow but for—
(i) her absence from Great Britain,
(ii) the operation of the provisions of regulations
made under paragraph 3 of Schedule 10
to the Act (overlapping benefits), or
(iii) her failure to make, or delay in making,
a claim to the benefit; and
(f) for the purpose of a claim by the woman
to a Category A retirement pension, where she has been a widow and has remarried,
to any year during any week in which any of the following benefits, namely—

(i) any personal death benefit under the
Industrial Injuries Act; and
(ii) any personal death benefit by way of
pension or allowance (not being a grant payable by reason of the beneficiary
being in receipt of a pension and being over 65 years of age or a pension
or allowance calculated by reference to the necessities of the beneficiary)
under any Personal Injuries Scheme
or Service Pensions Instrument or any 1914-1918
War Injuries Scheme,was payable to her as a widow at a rate which equalled or exceeded
the weekly rate of widow's pension under the Act, current in that week, as
specified in the second column of Part I of Schedule
4 to the Act.
(3) In determining whether a year is a reckonable
year for the purpose of a woman's right to a Category A retirement pension,
any contribution credited to her by virtue of the provisions of this regulation
shall be either taken into or left out of account, whichever course may from
time to time be more to her advantage.
(4) Where a woman is in receipt of any personal
death benefit by way of pension or allowance payable to her as a widow under
the Industrial Injuries Act, any Personal Injuries
Scheme, any Service Pensions Instrument or
any 1914-1918 War Injuries Scheme,
any Category A retirement pension which is payable to her wholly or in part
by taking into account contributions credited to her by virtue of the provisions
of this regulation shall, for the purposes of regulations made under 
paragraph 3 of Schedule 10 to the Act (overlapping
benefits), be treated as payable, wholly or in part, by virtue of her husband's
contributions;Provided that, in the case of a woman who has been a widow
more than once, the provisions of this paragraph shall apply in relation only
to contributions credited to her as the widow of her last husband.
7 

(1) Subject to the provisions of 
paragraph (2) of this regulation, where a woman
is entitled to widow's benefit or benefit under 
section 27(4) of the Act corresponding to a
widow's pension or a widowed mother's allowance immediately before she attains
pensionable age or would be so entitled but for one or more of the following
causes—
(a) her imprisonment or detention in legal
custody;
(b) her cohabitation with a man as his wife;

(c) the operation of the provisions of regulations
made under paragraph 3 of Schedule 10
to the Act (overlapping benefits);
(d) her failure to make, or delay in making,
a claim to the benefit,she shall be deemed to have satisfied the first contribution condition
for a Category A retirement pension specified in 
paragraph 5 of Schedule 3 to the Act.
(2) The provisions of 
regulation 3(6) of these regulations, other
than sub-paragraph (a),
shall apply in relation to paragraph (1)
of this regulation as they apply to paragraph
(1)(a) of that regulation.
8 
The question whether a married woman is subject to any of the disqualifications
for unemployment benefit contained in section
14(2) of the Act shall be determined on the
same basis as that applicable to a single woman, but not so as to exclude
such consideration of the responsibilities arising from her marriage as is
reasonable in the circumstances of the case.
9 

(1) Where a widow or a woman whose marriage
has been terminated otherwise than by the death of her husband would be entitled
to a widowed mother's allowance, a widow's pension or a Category A or a Category
B retirement pension but for the fact that the second contribution condition
specified in paragraph 5 of Schedule 3
to the Act is not satisfied, she shall be entitled to that benefit at a reduced
rate calculated as a percentage of the rate specified in relation to the benefit
in question in Part I of Schedule 4
to the Act, the percentage being ascertained in accordance with 
paragraph (3) or (4)
of this regulation; but where the percentage so ascertained is less than 25
per cent. no such benefit shall be payable under this paragraph.
(2) Where a woman, who would be entitled
to an increase of benefit under section 31
or 35 of the Act but for
the fact that the second contribution condition specified in 
paragraph 5 of Schedule 3 to the Act is not
satisfied, is entitled to benefit under paragraph
(1) of this regulation, the latter benefit
shall be increased—
(a) in the case of a child dependant, by
the amount specified in relation to the benefit in question in 
column (2), (3)
or (4) (as the case may be) of Part III of Schedule 4
to the Act; and
(b) in the case of an adult dependant, by
a percentage of the amount specified in relation to the benefit in question
in column (5) of Part III of Schedule 4
to the Act, the percentage being ascertained in accordance with 
paragraph (3) or (4)
of this regulation.
(3) Subject to 
paragraph (4) of this regulation the percentage
referred to in paragraphs (1) and
(2) of this regulation shall be ascertained
by taking the number of reckonable years in the working life of the contributor
concerned, and expressing that number as a percentage of the requisite number
of years specified for that working life in 
paragraph 5(4) of Schedule 3 to the Act; and
where the percentage so expressed is not a whole number it shall be rounded
up to the nearest whole number.
(4) For the purpose only of ascertaining
the rate of a Category A retirement pension, the percentage referred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this
regulation shall be ascertained, when it is more beneficial to the woman concerned
to ascertain it under this paragraph than under 
paragraph (3), by taking the number of years
arrived at under paragraph 2
or 3 (whichever is the greater) of Schedule 8
to the Act, in the case of a widow, or the number of years arrived at under 
paragraph 2 or 3
(whichever is the greater) of the Schedule to these regulations, in the case
of a woman whose marriage has been terminated otherwise than by the death
of her husband, and expressing that number as a percentage of the requisite
number of years specified for the working life of the woman in 
paragraph 5(4) of Schedule 3 to the Act; and
where the percentage so expressed is not a whole number it shall be rounded
up to the nearest whole number.
10 
For the purposes of regulations 2
, 4, 5
and 9 of these regulations
and regulation 7(9)
of the Widow's Benefit, Retirement Pension and Other Benefits
(Transitional) Regulations 1974—
(a) a voidable marriage which has been annulled
shall be treated as if it had been a valid marriage which was terminated by
divorce at the date of the annulment; and
(b) a woman who has obtained a decree absolute
of presumption of death and dissolution of marriage shall, notwithstanding
that the man whose death has been presumed is dead, be treated as a woman
whose marriage has been terminated otherwise than by the death of her husband
unless the date of his death is established to the satisfaction (as respects 
regulations 2, 4(1)
or (3) or 5
of these regulations or the said regulation 7(9)
) of the Secretary of State or (as respects 
regulation 4(2) or 9
of these regulations) of the determining authority; and, in relation to a
woman who is so treated, the marriage in question shall be treated as having
been terminated on the date of the decree absolute.
11 

(1) In the case of a woman whose marriage
has been terminated otherwise than by the death of her husband, whose husband
was insured under the National
Insurance Act 1965 and who has the contributions
of her husband treated, by virtue of regulation
4(1) of, and the Schedule to, these regulations
as if they were contributions of her own so as to entitle her to a Category
A retirement pension—
(a) paragraph
2(a) of the said Schedule shall apply with
the substitution for the words “the year in which the woman attained
the age of 16” of the words “the first year of
the woman's working life”, and 
paragraph 3(a) of the said Schedule shall apply
with the addition, after the words “married the husband”
, of the words “or, if later, the first year of her working
life”; and
(b) the number of any reckonable years which
were or could have been obtained by her husband under 
paragraph 7(2) of the Widow's Benefit,
Retirement Pension and Other Benefits (Transitional) Regulations 1974
and which may be taken into account towards her entitlement to a Category
A retirement pension shall, in any case where that entitlement is based on 
paragraphs 2 or 3,
as the case may be, of the Schedule to these regulations, not exceed such
number of years, in the period specified in 
paragraph 2(a) or 3(a),
as the case may be, of that Schedule, as fall before 6th April 1975, and the
number of any reckonable years so obtained by her which may be taken into
account towards that entitlement in any such case shall not exceed such number
of years in the period specified in paragraph
2(c) or 3(c)(i)
and (ii), as the case may
be, of that Schedule, as fall before that date.
(2) Notwithstanding their repeal by 
section 100(2) of and Schedule 28
to the Act, sections 22(4)
and 102 of the 
National Insurance Act 1965 shall continue
in force to the extent necessary to enable 
regulation 13(2) and (3) of the National
Insurance (Married Women) Regulations 1973 (credits for widows) to continue in force
for transitional purposes.
12 
The provisions of Part I
of the Act shall have effect subject to the modifications contained in these
regulations.
Barbara Castle
Secretary of State for Social Services
3rd December 1974
THE SCHEDULE
Regulation 4(1)
1 
There shall be taken into account towards the
woman's entitlement any reckonable contribution years of the former husband,
that is to say years for which his own earnings factor was sufficient for
satisfaction of paragraph (b)
of the second contribution condition; and the woman shall be treated as satisfying
that paragraph if the number of years arrived at either under 
paragraph 2 or under paragraph 3
below is equal to or exceeds that which is in her case the requisite number
of years for the purposes of the condition.
2 
The number of years arrived at under this paragraph
is that which is obtained by—
(a) taking the number of years between (inclusive)
the year in which the woman attained the age of 16 and (inclusive) the year
in which the marriage was terminated and—
(i) multiplying it by the number of the husband's
reckonable contribution years falling wholly before the date of that termination,
and
(ii) dividing it by the number of years in
his working life falling wholly before the date of that termination;
(b) if the resultant quotient is not a whole
number, rounding it up to the nearest whole number; and
(c) adding to the number of years arrived
at under sub-paragraphs (a) and (b) above any number of years after that in
which the marriage was terminated, being years for which the woman's own earnings
factor was sufficient for satisfaction by her of 
paragraph (b) of the second contribution condition.

3 
The number of years arrived at under this paragraph
is that which is obtained by—
(a) taking the number of years between (inclusive)
the year in which the woman married the husband and (inclusive) the year in
which the marriage was terminated; and
(i) multiplying it by the number of the husband's
reckonable contribution years falling wholly before the date of that termination,
and
(ii) dividing it by the number of years in
his working life falling wholly before the date of that termination;
(b) if the resultant quotient is not a whole
number, rounding it up to the nearest whole number; and
(c) adding to the number of years arrived
at under paragraphs (a) and (b) above any number of years—

(i) before that in which she became married
to the husband, and
(ii) after that in which the marriage was
terminated, being years for which her own earnings factor was sufficient for
satisfaction by her of paragraph (b)
of the second contribution condition.
4 
In this Schedule, 
“the second contribution condition” means the second condition for a Category A retirement pension specified
in paragraph 5 of Schedule 3
to the Act.