Almost 40 per cent will retire on a income of less that pounds 40 a week, according to PensionStore, a telephone pensions company.Among the most recent changes to hit women was the former Conservative government’s decision – under the banner of sex equality – to raise the retirement age in stages from 60 to 65. Women under the age of 35 will be hardest hit by this.Women’s patterns of employment also tend to ensure they receive less at retirement. “I have spent the last few years writing letter after letter to sort this out. I finally asked whether if I got divorced and then remarried, my husband’s contributions would apply again.

They said this was correct.”Ms Warren’s plight is typical of hundreds of thousands of women affected by a series of petty rules such as this one. After her divorce, the same situation applied.It was only when she remarried that she discovered her former husband’s contributions would no longer count towards her pension “This is ludicrous,” she says. If she took this simple step, Ms Warren would be better off to the tune of up to pounds 18 a week until she dies. The reason? She is caught in a Kafkaesque benefits trap which penalises her not for divorcing her first husband in 1985 but for marrying again a few years later.
Ms Warren, a property lawyer in Manchester, took a career break to raise her children between 1962 and 1970. During that time, the DSS accepted that her husband’s National Insurance contributions could count towards her state pension. All she needs to do one week before she steps down from her job in three years’ time is to divorce her husband Then, a week after she has retired, she can marry him again. Joan Warren knows just how she could increase her retirement income.

It will be interesting to see whether it becomes an even greater embarrassment than that of Black Wednesday just five years ago.Brian Tora is chairman of the investment strategy committee at Greig Middleton He can be contacted on 0171 6554000.. It is worth remembering that EMU stands for economic and monetary union – not, as many people believe, for European monetary union.A single European currency means a single European economy. Sceptics will point to the fact that what is good for Leipzig may not be so efficacious in Lille or Liverpool.But Brussels remains committed to the experiment. Italy was forced out, leaving the field clear for speculators against sterling. The Government’s frenzied attempts to avoid ejection – including bringing bank rates to 15 per cent – were to no avail.