I am a single mother, and like many others, I have served in the British Army, dedicating my life to protect our great nation. However, we find ourselves constrained by current rules, leaving us unable to secure our children's financial future as we would wish.

Presently, military pension schemes in the UK don't provide the option for single veterans like us to pass on our pensions to our offspring once we are gone. This omission puts undue pressure on our children and fails to duly recognise the sacrifices made by armed forces personnel.

According to a study by King's Centre for Military Health Research, many veterans face significant challenges following their service, including single parenthood, resulting in reliance on the military pension as a crucial lifeline. However, the current pension scheme rules withhold us from ensuring this lifeline extends to our children. This lack of provision does not just impact us but affects approximately 900,000 single parents in the UK armed forces, a significant proportion of the military community.

We therefore urge the Ministry of Defence and the Armed Forces Pension Schemes to review and revise the current system, allowing single veterans to bequeath our pensions to our children. This amendment would underline their commitment to supporting the servicemen and women who put their lives on the line to serve our country, and provide us the peace of mind knowing our children's financial future is safeguarded.

Make your voice heard; stand with us in this struggle for financial justice. Please sign this petition, and together, we can instigate much-needed change.