OLD AGE PENSIONS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 230, 22 June 1908, Page 7

OLD AGE PENSIONS.

IMPORTANT: AMENDMENT PROPOSED. SLIDING- SCALE. BT TELEGBAPH—PRESS ASSOCIATION—COPYMQHT. London, June 19. Mr.: Lloyd-George, Chancellor of the Exchequer, informed a deputation from tho friendly societies that the Government did not intend to make receipt of benefit moneys .from friendly .societies a disqualification for old age pension. With regard to the income limit, tho Chancellor proposed, the following sliding gcalo• , Total Amount of income and Income pension. '. pension. ; per week. per week. per week. Bs. • ss. 13s. 9s. 4s. 13s. 10s.| 3s. ( . 13s. lis.'' * 2s. ' 13s; 12s. . Is. 13s. 'AN EQUALISING PROPOSAL. . The income limit under the' Bill provides simply that if a person's income is 10s. per week,or upwards, he 6hall receive no pension; so that/ if his income were 9s. he could receive the full 'ss. pension and have thus Us. a week, but if his income were 10s. or more, he would ; get .no pension at nil. Thera was a cry for some give-and-take on each side of the dividing., lino, - and Mr. Lloyd-George proposes to meet it by the scale stated-above. Under this proposal, men with incomes between Bs. and 10s. will lose Is. in pension; but the 10s., lis., and 12s. men will all come in to got some benefit. And it will be noted that, in each of the. five grades, the total of income and pension works out, under Mr. Lloyd-George's scale, at the same figure, 13s. ' Strong,'representations have-been made by laboiir men and-friendly societies that the recoipt of benefit funds from friendly societies and trade unions should not count as disqualifying -income under the pensions scheme. It is 6aid that in England and Wales no fewer than 58,000 people are in receipt of such benefit moneys. ' .