PENSIONS BILL

Evening Post, Volume CXXII, Issue 31, 5 August 1936, Page 6

PENSIONS BILL

A BIG INCREASE

. ALL TO BENEFIT ■

PAYMENT TO INVALIDS

All-round increases in the existing pensions rates and the provision of an invalidity pension were announced by the Minister of Finance, who stated that the total vote for pensions would be increased from £3,770,000 last year to £5,480,000 this year. n^ te P^POsed for pensions is £0,480,000, compared with an expenditure of £3,770,000 for last year" the Minister said. "As a community we have a definite responsibility to ensure that those who are not able to fend for themselves, because of infirmities or old age, are able to enjoy a reasonable standard of comfort:. As already indicated, it is the intention of the Government to establish a national health and superannuation scheme that will provide or insure every one against these contingencies. In the'meantime we must, as a matter of urgent necessity, do something to increase the inadequate pensions at-present paid. As a commencement it is:proposed, as from July 1 last, to do the following-—

War pensions:— - 1. Increase the rate of economic pensions payable to war pensioners to 25s a week. 2. Fully restore economic pensions payable to war widows and wid- • owed mothers.

3. Restore the allowances payable to ( wives and. other dependants of deceased and disabled soldiers.

4. Remove the present marriage re-! striction on the granting of pen-i 1 sions to the wives and widows of! ex-soldiers in the case of all I women who were married on or i before July 31 last; this also ap-j plies to the wives of ex-soldiers applying for war veterans' allow-1 ances. 5. Increase the Maori War pension to £1 a week. Old-age pensions:— 1. Raise the old-age,pension to £1 a ■week. 2. Provide for women otherwise qualified to receive it the full .oldage pension at sixty years of age. 3. Reduce Hie residential qualification for old-age pensions to twenty years. 4. Provide that income and not property lowned is to be the decisive -factor" in determining the amount of pension payable. 5. Provide for all naturalised aliens otherwise qualified to be eligible for the old-age pension. Miners' pensions:— 1. Miners incapacitated through occupational diseases to be eligible for miner's pension. ' 2. Miner's' widow's pensions to be restored. Widow's pensions:— 1. Increase the pension ot widows with dependant children from 10s to £1 a week, the pension in respect of children to remain'at 10s a week. 2. Enable deserted wives with dependant children to qualify for pensions on the same basis as widows. Invalid pensions:— Provide a pension for invalids, being persons permanently incapacitated for employment, at the rate of £1 a week plus 10s for a wife.and 10s for each child under sixteen years of age, the income qualification to be the same as for an; old-age pension. . Family allowances:— .Maximum income qualification to be restored to £4 per week. To provide for these increases for nine months of the current year and also the normal expansion the vote for pensions has been increased by £1,710,000.