PENSIONS BILL.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVIII, 9 October 1924, Page 7

PENSIONS BILL.

SOUTH AFRICAN VETERANS BENEFIT. PENSIONS FOR AGED BLIND. (BY TELEGRAPH —-PREBB ASSOCIATION .) WELLINGTON, Oct. 8. Changes in the pensions system are contained in the Pensions Amendment Bill, Avhich was introduced in the House to-day. The leader of the' Opposition (Mr T. M. Wilford) ashed if the Minister had yet evolved a scffeme for all people who so desired to come into a scheme under which they could.die contributors. The trend was to general pensions. Pensioßjjitfor the blind were hound to come,’as' well as uensions for those unable to work. It wa*s no answer to say that a man had no money and therefore the Government could not help him. There should be some help for those who fell bn evil days, provided they were of good character. Mr P. Fraser (Wellington Central) said he did not anticipate that at this .stage of the session the Minister would provide any. Radical amendment to the pensions system. The greatest care must' be exercised in considering any contributory system, and there was not time this session to do that. He, however, trusted that there would he no interference with any person at present in receipt- of a pension. The Hon. J. A. Hanan (Invercargill) hbped there would be something in the Bill tending in the direction of a scheme of national insurance.

The Minister for Pensions (Hon. J. G. Anderson) said the Bill endeavoured to remove anomalies at present existing. It increased the amount of money which a pensioner may earn from £39 to £52, married couples in proportion. The widow’s pension was increased to 10s, with a maximum of £4, and her earnings could be increased to 30s weekly. The value of property which a pensioner could own was increased to £520. or lie could purchase an annuity of £52 and his pension would not be reduced. There was a pension for South African veterans, and the Bill proposed to give 15s weekly to all blind persons who qualified for old age pensions. The Minister added that the Bill was based largely on the recommendations ■of the recent commission, but he thought no system would be satisfactory until we had a contributory system, and then it should not be called a pensions scheme, but a superannuation scheme. He had been collecting ■data for this for a considerable time", and he hoped yet to introduce a Bill ■embracing this principle and circulate it for public consideration. It was a huge scheme, and involved an enormous sum of money, but it was the only Avar in which the demands could he met. The Bill was read a first time.