THIS WEEK IN 1985: Women get new pension rights

A pension alert to all married women over 66 was sounded by Portsmouth Citizens Advice Bureau.

Staff were concerned that women would slip through the DHSS net and miss out on a pension due to them under changes in government regulations.

For the first time, married women who were 60 or over could get a retirement pension in their own right – provided they had paid at least 10 years’ national insurance.

It did not matter if it was paid when the woman was married or single.