PAYMENT OF FAMILY BENEFITS COSTS STATE £12,000,000

Greymouth Evening Star, 11 July 1947, Page 2

PAYMENT OF FAMILY BENEFITS COSTS STATE £12,000,000

WELLINGTON, July 10

Payment of benefits and pensions other than medical benefits, made last year by the Social Security Department amounted to £34,819,105, compared with £20,935,481 m 1945-46, says the annual report of the department. Payments under the heading of medical benefits amounted to £6,211,580. . , The biggest item was the payment of family benefits, which amounted to £12,680,778. This figure is nearly five times as large as the family benefits total of the previous year, when family benefit payments amounted to £2,611,759. Age benefits were £11,881,119, against £9,817,615 in 1945-46. Other big payments were: —1939-45 war benefits, £2,080,952; 1914-18 war benefits, £2,036,825; widows’ benefits,, £1j529,010; universal superannuation, £1,349,689; invalids’ pensions, £1,328,485. One pension of £lO4 was paid for the Maori War. Pharmaceutical benefits: £1,439,686. ! Under the medical heading, medical benefits proper amounted to £1,760,574. Other payments in this category were: hospital benefits, £1,986,288; maternity benefits, £672,989; pharmaceutical benefits; £1,439,686; supplementary benefits £352 043. .Excluding expenditure of £23,030 on capital items, administration costs for the year amounted to £775,828, including £94,665 for the administration of war pensions and allowances. The social security charge on wages and other income brought in £22,383,884. Social security registration fees amounted to £15,287, and penalties, fines, interest, and miscellaneous receipts amounted to £ 120,730. Grants from the Consolidated Fund were £18,000,000. During the year the department received 14,619 applications for war pensions. Of these 9531 were lodged by. former servicemen in reference to their own disabilities. The balance was made tip of claims by dependants and of applications for economic pensions and war veterans’ allowances.