WAR PENSIONS

Dominion, Volume 14, Issue 300, 13 September 1921, Page 7

WAR PENSIONS

WIFE AND CHILDREN OF A DECEASED SOLDIER ,• (Contributed by R.S.A.) Naturally this is one of the easiest aspects of the great pension question to deal with, as there is a specified pension for tho widow of each grade of soldier and also for children. Just as tho pay of a.soldier varies according to his rank, so do the pensions of widows. The following ia a table showing the pensions of widows according to tho rank of their deceased husbands: — To a wife

Should the widow of a deceased soldier marry again, her pension ceases, but she may receive in lieu thereof a gratuity not exceeding in value two years’ pension. Thus, if the widow of a lieutenant were to remarry, she would forfeit her claim to £2 a week for life, 'but she could claim .£234 in its place as a gratuity before remarriage. Ton shillings a week is allowed for each child under 16, biit in the case of a female child tho Pensions Board may. if it thinks fit, grant this pension until she is 17 years of age. From an analysis of the above table, it is readily seen that a widow with a family receives 10s. increase to her own pension in addition to 10s. a week for each child, inns, the childless widow of a private receives J3l 10s. a weok, whilst a widow with children would receive j£2 a week plus the pensions for her children. The reason for the extra 10s. a week is obvious. The childless widow would, probably be at work, whereas the widow with children would have.to maintain a home and educate her children. T extra allowance helps- her to do so. Any child Buffering from any mental or bodily infirmity, may receive a Pension as long as the board thinks fiIn ths case of orphan chl^ en ’ ° f r ren not under the control of the r mother, the maximum pension for each Xild ie 153. per week. This fact is worth noting carefully, as 15s. per wbek is payable for each child, whose mother has deserved it, or who hoe been compelled to go to a mental hospital (as woll Ba for motherless children). telf jth® Pensions Board is satisfied that the total amount received by a widow and her children is insufficient to maintain them in their pre-war standard of comfort, it may increase the wilot » pension by 15s. a week, but the total amount payable to the widow and chil dren must not exceed £1 a week. If a soldier is officially reported as missing, the pension is payable to widow and children just. as if he had died of wounds or injuries. If te « later on reported as living and disabled, the widow’s pension, of course, ceases, and the pension for his degree/"f dieablemtent substituted! . Should the soldier be reported aS living, and (not disabled, the pension ceases, and any moneys paid as pension- are deducted from the accumulated pay of soidlTho widow and children may receive a pension at any time within seven; veara of tho soldier receiving his wounds or disease, which are adjudged to be responsible for bis death. According o the present legislation, if a soldier were to die in 1935 from wounds received in 1916, no pension would bo allowed Ins widow and children; it is to be hoped that the ' Government will extend this period when it \s found necessary. ■ Tho following tftble shows the amount of liability due by' the Government to widows and children since the inception

The decreases in the number of pensioners is due (1) to decrease of pensioners; (2) to the remarrying of some of the widows; and (3) to the children reaching the age of 14, and thus becoming ineligible for further pension. As .the above averages include children’s pensions paid to their widowed mothers, the average amount received by the widows themselves approximates £9O per annum. The N.Z.R.S.A. intends to ask the Government to increase by 75 per cent, the pensions of widows with a child or children so that they will be able to live in moderate comfort. It will be most willingly admitted by all that no money grant, however great, will ever compensate widows for their loss. No increase in the pension (1) of a childless widow, and (2) of a deceased soldier’s children is at present proposed.

Without a child. with a child or children. Rank. Per week. Per week. £ s. d. .£ s. d. Private .. 1 10 0 2 0 0 Corporal .. 1 11 0 2 10 Sergeant .. 1 12 0 3 2 0 C.S.M .. 1 14 0 2 4 0 R.S.M .. 1 15 0 2 5 0 Lieutenants ... ..250 2 15 0 Captain .. 2 10 0 3, 0 0 Major .. 2 17 0 3 7 0 Lieut.-Colonel 3 0 0 3 16 0 Colonel ..380 3 18 t 0 Brig.-General .. 3 10 0 4 0 0

of pensions:— Total paid. 39,143 Average pension. £ 97 1916-17 .. No. of Pensioners. 400 1917-18 1099 133,547 121 1918-19 .. 1970 233,451 118 1919-20 .. 2075 238,693 115 1920-21 ... 2034 226,932 112 Total paid to widows and children '.£871,766