Wage-earning family aid

Press, 9 November 1984, Page 1

Wage-earning family aid

Wellington reporter

A Family Care package is included in the Budget designed to help, wageearning families in need. Family Care will be paid at the full rate of $lO a week a child to families with earnings and other income less than $20,470 a year. Above that, the payment will be reduced 25c for every extra dollar earned a week.

A family with three children, for example, will get some payment if it has earnings and other income up to $26,710, or $514 a week.

Family Care has been aimed at families where one or both parents are active members of the workforce. The Minister of Social Welfare, Mrs Hercus, said Family Care was urgently needed by families on lower wages and was not a handout.. Top priority would be given to ensuring that all eligible families got their first Family Care payment before Christmas.

During the next two weeks, the Social Welfare Department will send application forms to everyone in New Zealand receiving a Family Benefit — about 500,000.

“This is a massive task,” Mrs Hercus said, “and we are asking for the good will and co-operation of everyone in getting the forms back to the department so that they can be processed before Christmas.”

Special toll-free lines would be set up for people to telephone for help and information. Direct approaches to departmental offices were being discouraged.

The free-phone number would be Wellington 730-720 and would be available from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. on week-days, she said. Special help will be given under the Family Care scheme to families earning less than $lBO gross a week (about $9400 a year) even when they have one parent in full-time employment. This special payment will be made in addition to the $lO a week Family Care payment, but does not increase when there is more than one child in the family. For families earning $l6O a week the special payment will be $lO a week; for those earning more than $l6O a week the special payment will be reduced by $1 for . every $2 a week earned over $l6O.

If a family earns less than $l6O a week, the $lO special payment will be increased so that the family receives in effect an income of $l7O a week. Together with the ordinary Family Care grant of $lO a week, this brings the minimum weekly level of income for any family with at least one child to $lBO.

The special Family Care payment will be covered by the normal Family Care application.

Wage-earners whose income is still insufficient to meet “essential family expenses" will also be able to apply for a Special Benefit from the department. Until now, the Special Benefit has been available only to

Sole who are already eficiaries.

Mrs Hercus said that applicants for the Special Benefit would be considered case by case on their merits.