•- ■ -MORE PENSIONS. ;

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1620, 11 December 1912, Page 9

MORE PENSIONS.

FOE ALKfEESpM.iN-VALIDED.-' -■'' - ! On--the ■subject of pensions generally, -.the Hon; F.'Mi B. Fisher, Minister in -charge'.pf the'pensions Department,;, made■:a statement to>""Lyttelton Times'' .reporter; -, .'■'".'' Mr. Fisher said he hoped to submit to Parliament next session a consolidating measuro dealing with the old age penScrS, the military pensions, and the' widows' pensions. ■ If the Government succeeded ;in obtaining' tho' necessary sum for . invalids' pensions, proposals in- that direction Would be included in the consolidatr ing Bill. ' The idea at present was to provide pensions for' all who were incapacitated from earning a livelihood. Tf.'for instance,. a, man employed in. a quarry met- with an iccident, which .prevented .liim'.'.ffbiii.eafriing-i.hi?. liying,,lio, would receive I'fromCthe State.a pension,; that would relieve him from the necessity for begging, of' from appearing on the streets with a hurdy-gurdy or anything of that'kind; The' proposal to alter the old age pensions scheme in order that the pension should-be given to women at. sixty years' of age instead of sixty-five,. also depended largely on the question of. finance. : The alteration would cost the - country 5£80,006 a year.' ' .. ■ ,• In another, direction he was trying- to facilitate the extension of the national provident fund, -in order that employees. in'large firms might co-operate with employers in establishing insurance funds. A representative of the national insurance fund was touring and lecturing m the North Island, and was doing excellent work. He thought that the same action snould be taken in the, South Island. ■ '''■■■... ■ . ,