[Rowlf]

I too have only just seen this tread. Re pensions..... Being married or not has no baring on whether you get a full pension. It is whether you have enough National Insurance contributions. I have a full pension in my own right as I always paid a 'full' stamp. Many married women opted to pay what years ago was a 4p stamp then it went up to 6p. This only covered statutory sick pay but did not allow them to claim dole and did not contribute towards their pension. When actual stamps were done away with and contributions were a percentage of earnings married women could still opt to pay a lower rate which again affected their pension. I worked 20 years part time but still paid the full rate ensuring a full pension at 60yrs. The irony is that when the new pensions come into effect I along with others my age will not get the £140 or whatever the figure is so it seems I wasted my time paying the top rate after all.