Pension for elderly woman

I don’t know about any ESB entitlement. I think the marriage gratuity was intended to compensate for any losses.
She only worked there for a few years but actually some women might have worked for a decade or so before being chucked out.

In the case of female civil servants who resigned on marriage and who met certain eligibility requirements, a lump sum payment, known as a ‘marriage gratuity’ was paid in lieu of any other civil service superannuation benefit.

You need to apply to the esb and ask. No pension happens automatically. No harm in asking the question.

I talked to mum about it. She worked in the ESB for 7 years. She got £70 marriage gratuity when she left in 1958. A few years later she was told that this was incorrect and she was entitled to more so she wrote to them and got an additional £117. She thinks this was around 1970 maybe 1972. It paid for a twin tub washing machine, total game changer for her.

Dad is pretty sure that accepting the gratuity equated to accepting that the ESB had no further obligations regarding pensions etc.

But things change and I am going to contact them and ask.

It never occurred to mum that working for a few more years, or indeed working for a day a week would clock up more contributions. She wasn’t alone in that, or rather she’s not alone in that. A lot of people who don’t have steady employment are not clued into pensions. And don’t think to check until they hit 60+