INCREASED PENSIONS

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXX, 14 September 1936, Page 9

INCREASED PENSIONS

PAYMENT ON THURSDAY

60,000 AFFECTED

(United Press Association'

ROTORUA, 12th September

State pensioners throughout the Dominion will receive on Thursday next increases of pensions recently granted by Parliament. The Minister of Pensions, the Hon. W. E. Parry, said to-day that approximately 60,000 pensions will be affected by the increased payments to be made under the legislation. The maximunr old age pension was increased from 17s 6d a week to £1 a week from Ist July last and to 22s 6d a week from Ist December next, the Minister said. > Alterations in the method of ealeu-; lating the pension would mean that a far greater proportion of pensioners ! than formerly would receive the full ■ pension. Among very beneficial im- • provements in the law was one pro- j viding that a woman under 65 should j now have no deduction made from her pension in respect of her age. In the great majority of cases the deductions formerly made in respect of property which provided little or no income were now eliminated.

Paying a tribute to the staff of the Pensions Department in performing a formidable task in getting the vouchers ready so quickly to enable back pay of pensioners to be handed over to them on Thursday, Mr Parry said he had discovered from investigations he had made on taking up office that the State had in its Pensions Department a staff which could not be excelled. Any alteration of pension meant a tremendous amount of extra work which carries with it much overtime for the staff.

The new legislation was assented to by the Governor-General on 4th September. By working seven days in ,the week recomputing and assessing arrears of pensions payments as from Ist July, the department is able to pay on Thursday to pensioners money due to them.