Widowed Parent’s Allowance — changes ahead

Lord Freud, the Tory welfare reform minister, is changing the rules for new recipients of this allowance believing the current system does not create enough incentives for widows to marry again or get a job.

Under the plans, widows and widowers with children will get £9,800 spread over the first year after their husband or wife dies, while those without children will get £4,300 in the first year. This means widows with children will lose entitlement to thousands of pounds in benefits while their children are growing up.

The plans are meant to incentivise widowed parents to go back to work, but those with jobs and children will actually be the biggest losers. In the first year, working widowed parents will be £4,200 better off, but they will lose out on payments worth £44,000 in the 10 years after that.

Unemployed widowed parents will gain £5,600 in the first year but lose £32,500 over the next decade.

Lord Freud said the changes would help stop widows being led into a “lifetime of dependency”.