Widow's pension

In the United States, the widow's pension was introduced in the Senate in 1930.[2] It was not especially uncommon for young women in Arkansas to marry Confederate pensioners; in 1937 the state passed a law stating that women who married Civil War veterans would not be eligible for a widow's pension. The law was later changed in 1939 to state that widows born after 1870 were not eligible for pensions. Hopkins generally kept her first marriage a secret, fearing that the resulting gossip (of marrying a much older man) would damage her reputation.[3]

In 2003, Congress approved a payment of $11,750 of widow's pension owed to Harriet Tubman.[1][4]

In the United Kingdom, the Widow’s Pension was discontinued in 2001.[5] A widow's pension can be paid to childless widows aged 45 or over, or to those whose husband died before September 4, 2001.[6]

When it was offered, for a woman to qualify, her husband had to have paid 25 flat-rate contributions before April 6, 1975.[1]

In Israel in 2007, a court ruled that the female partner of a deceased lesbian was entitled to a widow's pension.[5]

In New Zealand, a widow's pension was introduced in 1911 to help families with no other way of supporting themselves.[7]