Age benefits
Sir,—The greedy man ! pines in plenty. He, like Tantalus, is up to the chin in water, and yet thirsty. Beneficiaries are favourably treated in New Zealand.—Yours etc., A.P.F. February 4, 1974. ( Sir,—The age benefit no (more closely equates the basic wage today, as Dr Stallard imagines, than it did in 1939, under the first Labour Government. At that time, when I was a clerk in the Social Security Departjment, it was £3 a week for • a couple and the basic wage for a family man was £5. That is three-fifths, about half. Today a pensioner couple gets $40.70 and most
[family men have to have wives working to meet the cost of living. The sum of $40.70 is three-fifths of $67 which is below the average for 1973 wage and salary earners. The age benefit has not progressed since 1939, except for a Christmas bonus and phone concession. If the Soviet Union can equate pensions with their basic wage, why cannot we? As tax payers, age beneficiaries would have the same dignity as other taxpayers.—Yours etc., A. B. CEDARIAN. February 4, 1974.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33452, 6 February 1974, Page 10
Word Count
184Age benefits Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33452, 6 February 1974, Page 10
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