OLD AGE PENSIONS.
EFFECT OF AMENDING BILL.
The second reading of the Old Age Pensions Amendment Bill was moved in the House this afternoon by Sir Joseph Ward, who explained that under the Bill ownership of homes of values from £340 to £600 would not debar an applicant from receiving a pension, the owner of a home valued at £340 being entitled to £26 pension, which would be reduced on a sliding scale, as the value of the house exceeded £340 until it reaches £600, when the pension would cease.
Mr. Massey said he would support the second reading, and reserve his criticism for the committee stage. Mr. Allen said he could find no reference in the Bill to the property limit mentioned by Sir Joseph Ward, or to the property value of £340. The effect of the Bin would be to make owners of property t/n times worse off than they were at present as regards old age pensions. Mr. T. E. Taylor approved of the principle of the Bill. Sir Joseph Ward explained the comparative effects of the existing law, and those of the Bill, as follows:—Taking a house valued at £200, a single person owning same under the present law would get a £24 pension, whilst under the Bill he would get £26; house valued at £250, present system £16, undor Bill £26: £300, single person at present receives £11, under Bill £26; married couple at present would receive £19 each, under Bill £26 each; £500 property (at present debarred from a pension) would entitle a single person to £10 and a married couple to £9 each. The cost of the concession would amount to £25,000 a year. Property would be valued on the 10 per cent, basis, mortgages being deducated; that is, the value of property owned by persons otherwise eligible for pensions is deemed to produce an income of 10 per cent., upon which the pensions are calculated. The second reading was agreed to. When the Bill was considered in committee clause 5, on the motion of Sir Joseph Ward, was amended so as to exclude property transferred to the Public Trustee from the operation of the Bill. The Bill was then reported with amendments-
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/NZH19091222.2.65.3
Bibliographic details
New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14250, 22 December 1909, Page 8
Word Count
370OLD AGE PENSIONS. New Zealand Herald, Volume XLVI, Issue 14250, 22 December 1909, Page 8
Using This Item
NZME is the copyright owner for the New Zealand Herald. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons New Zealand BY-NC-SA licence . This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of NZME. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Auckland Libraries and NZME.