SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27709, 13 July 1955, Page 9

SOCIAL SECURITY BENEFITS

Income Concession Extended DOMESTIC AND NURSING SERVICES (New Zealand Press Association) WELLINGTON, July 12. The Government has decided that the social security income concession applying to women domestic workers in private homes shall be extended to cover both domestic and nursing services in private homes and in hospitals and charitable institutions. This means that women who qualify for social security benefits and who are engaged, in domestic or nursing work will be able to earn £156 a year without the benefit being reduced, provided there is no income from other sources. They are eligible for the normal income exemption of £7B a year, plus a similar exemption of the same amount because of the nature of the work in which they are engaged. The Minister of Social Security (Mr E. H. Halstead), who announced this today, said that the extension of the concession fulfilled a Government undertaking to consider fuljy the recommendations of the recent national conference on the care of the aged. It was not considered appropriate, however, that the concession should be extended to include men, as had also been recommended by the conference.

Mr Halstead said that the object of rhe decision was to relieve the shortage of domestic and nursing help available in hospitals and charitable institutions, as well as in private homes.

“The Government feels that many women who qualify for a social security benefit would welcome this opportunity of voluntarily supplementing their income,” he said. “Even parttime work would be a great contribution to the staff difficulties our hospitals face.”

The Minister said the decision would tequire legislation, which would be introduced when Parliament resumed.