Pensioner work scheme starts

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33611, 13 August 1974, Page 12

Pensioner work scheme starts

Government adjustment of th amount old people are allowed to ear. without having their pensions penalisec is urged by the Aged People’s Welfar. Council.

The council has begun an employment scheme for retired people, but has found that enthusiasm has been dampened when applicants for jobs have learned they can only earn $l7 a week if their pensions are not to be affected. Above this level, retired people will lose $1 off their pension for every $2 they earn. However, response to the scheme was still keen, in spite of this deterrent. Mr G. A. Mole, secretary of the council said yesterday. The council’s scheme was still in its very early stages, but a month had brought about 40 offers of employment from firms and businesses around Christchurch and country areas.

I Most commonly offered were clerical positions and cleaning jobs. Others included greenkeeping, driving a retired fanner out to keep a country plot, renovating rei located houses, working in retail shops, cooking in residential homes for the aged, and holiday homes, gardening. babysitting, carpentry, and being a surveyor’s chainman. About a dozen persons had been placed in jobs, Mr Mole said. To boost applications, to the level of offers of employment, the city has been divided into four areas, after! postal zoning, each with a supervisor. They will compile! rosters of those seeking: work. The areas are: city centre (1), south (2), west (4 and 5), east and north (6 and 7). Area supervisors can be contacted as follows:— Zone 1, phone 40-314, from 12 noon to 2 p.m., Monday to Wednesday; zone 2, phone 558-474, any morning; zones 4 and 5, phone 856-866, any morning from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m.; zones 6 and 7, phone 82-175, any day from 7.30

a.m. to 9.30 a.m. and 7.30 ( p.m. to 9 p.m. The council fully supported, comments by the president of the Manufacturers’ Federation (Mr J. D. Bull) that the Government should encourage retired people to go back to work by raising the in-! come they are allowed to earn without reduction of their pensions. Mr Bull estimated that: about 42,000 retired people; would welcome employment even if it were only parttime. Mr P. N. G. Blaxall, chairman of the council, said that under the present system retired people who wanted to retain their benefit would be forced to work only parttime, or full-time for a very short period if they were not to exceed their income limit of $l7 a week. Many wanted ,to work an eight-hour day- and not restricted hours, he said. Mr Blaxall said that a delegation of welfare councils would press very soon for an income allowance of $25 a week above the pension.