Courts say no to nun's pension
The Court of Appeal has held that Sister Isobel Mary Scott, a nun from the English Benedictine Order of Oulton Abbey near Stone, Staffordshire is not entitled to a means-tested state pension.
The 74-year-old nun, who is in poor health, has never earned a salary or paid National Insurance because her religious orders forbid the ownership of possessions or money. She and one other nun are all that is left of the religious community, established as a charitable trust in 1963 where they manage a small nursing home and a playgroup generating a modest income.
Stephen Knafler, the QC representing Sister Mary, said this left the nun in a catch-22 situation, because, although she wants to retire due to her declining health, any reduction in her workload would mean the end of all she has toiled to achieve. He also pointed out that as the Benedictine Order has no centralised authority or control, the Oulton Abbey community was autonomous and self sufficient and, as such, unable to fully maintain Sister Mary in her old age.
The judge said there could be ”no dispute” that Sister Mary’s order was “fully main-taining" her and she was therefore not legally entitled to the benefit.
This case raises the wider issue of retirement funding for the other 5,000 remaining nuns and 1,400 monks in England and Wales.
Sister Isobel Mary Scott v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2011] EWCA Civ 103. 21 January 2011
Comments
There are no comments on this article. Be the first to comment.