News

Important updates to the Ombudsman process are now law in Ireland. For widowed people facing issues with social welfare, pensions, mortgage protection, or life insurance claims, these changes promise faster and fairer outcomes.

International Widows Day is an opportunity for action towards achieving full rights and recognition for widows around the world. The lack of reliable hard data remains one of the major obstacles to developing the policies and programmes to address the poverty, violence and discrimination suffered by widows in many parts of the world. There is a need for more research and statistics disaggregated by marital status, sex and age, in order to help reveal the incidence of widow abuse and illustrate the situation of widows. According to the UN, "Governments should take action to uphold their commitments to ensure the rights of widows as enshrined in international law, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Even when national laws exist to protect the rights of widows, weaknesses in the judicial systems of many States compromise how widows’ rights are defended in practice and should be addressed. Lack of awareness and discrimination by judicial officials can cause widows to avoid turning to the justice system to seek reparations."

The Irish government is introducing the Bereaved Partner’s Pension to extend bereavement benefits to long-term cohabiting partners. The move follows a 2024 Supreme Court ruling and has been broadly welcomed, though advocacy groups are calling for further consultation and key amendments.

Funeral delays in Ireland are becoming an increasing concern for bereaved families. In recent weeks, coroners and pathologists have warned that staffing shortages within...

Deaths in Ireland are rising faster than supports A new report on death and bereavement warns that the number of deaths in Ireland will rise...

There are some 259 million widows around the world, and nearly half are living in poverty. Widows are often stigmatized by their families and communities. Many suffer discrimination based on age and gender. Some have lived lives marked by physical and sexual abuse. Older widows often have few economic assets, after a lifetime of hard but unpaid work. Even in developed countries, the value of women’s pensions can be some 40 per cent lower than men’s. Younger widows face other challenges, as heads of households with childcare responsibilities and very limited economic opportunities.

Comptroller & Auditor General Report Widows’/widowers’/surviving civil partners’ contributory pension is a weekly payment to the husband, wife or civil partner of a deceased person. It...

Ombudsman Peter Tyndall recently published the first casebook for County Clare. He was asked to examine the case of a widow who, after her husbands death, wasn't informed of her entitlement to Household Benefits Package.

New provisions allowing Leaving Certificate students who suffer a close family bereavement during the state examinations in June to sit alternative papers in July.

Managing Alone MABS At a very vulnerable time in life the partner of a deceased person is required to make decisions involving financial matters that...