ALLOTMENT OF PENSIONS

Evening Star, Issue 18094, 9 October 1922, Page 1

ALLOTMENT OF PENSIONS

SOME OF THE DIFFICULTIES. The difficulties associated 1 with the assessment of pensions by the Pensions Board in the early days of its operations were descrilred by Mr G. C. Fache, Commissioner of Pensions, before the Pensions Commission. On a soldier making application to the Pensions Board, be said, it was a common thing for a man to ask why his pension was reduced when lie was "in exactly the same position as he was four years previously. The board in the past bad been guided by liberal motives. He was satisfied that the actual position of the Pensions Board and l its relation to the department were not understood by tile Returned Soldiers’ Association or by anyone else. They had certain well-defined "customs and principles which guided- their lino of action, and these were not aired for general -edification; he could not see that it was necessary that they should lie. Dealing with the difficulties which the <’ board had experienced in its early days, he said that these had hinged particularly on the assignment of the percentage (if disability. When the War Pensions Boardfirst dealt with pensions for soldiers the only information which it. had to guide it with regard to the disability of a" man was the military medical man's report, on which such data as the date, the nature, and cause of a man’s disability were .set forth, and also any subsequent disability from which he suffered. The Pensions Board had had to interpret what had been in the mind of the military medical officer, and what the percentage of disability assigned to cadi man meant. There had been no indication as to whether the disability was that of an unskilled or skilled laborer, or what kind of employment the doctor had in mind when he had filled in his certificate, and the assessment was made without regard to the percentage of disability assigned to each man. Consequently the board had had to frame a system. As ho hud made clear, these percentages were formed by army medical men, without the boards having anything to do with them. Sometimes it was impossible to see the man, and the board had adopted its own system and decided every cate on this. The man assigned with 30 per cent, disability by the military medical authorities was awarded a pension of 30s per week, not because of any inherent relation between the figures, but because the actual experience in seeing a limited number of these men led the board to believe that this was a fair amount. In actual practice every man of 50 per cent, disability or over had been granted the full pension. The hoard had never been asked to ex- , plain its policy; it was not invited to reveal it now. but he thought it very fair that lie should lay these facts before the Commission. As far as he knew, it wan the first time that they had been mads public. But though the War Pensions Board started off by ignoring the basis of bercentage given it by the military medical men. in the early days it had made, it a, practice to grant pensions for throe mouths and six months and no more. Then it became necessary to alter the form submitted to the examiners. Instead of asking the doctor to state the percentage of disability, the question was asked “What is the percentage of disability for pension purposes?” Not deeming the earlier question sufficient guide to the medical examiners, this meant that the linnsd was asking them in );Jain language “What is the value of this man's disability in £ s. d.?”

■Still the board bad reserved the right to vary the percentage; but it had been a very rare time for r. mqai of 70, SO. or 90 per cent., disability not to obtain the full benefit of his handicap.