PENSIONS DIFFICULTY

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23143, 15 September 1938, Page 3

PENSIONS DIFFICULTY

ELDERLY WOMEN'S PLIGHT PROTECTION SOCIETY'S VIEW Some instances of the plight of elderly women separated from their husbands through no fault of their own and unable to earn a living were given at the monthly meeting of the executive of the Society for the Protection of Women and Children. The chairman, Mr. Dawson Donaldson, presided. It was stated that certain difficulties arose in applying for invalid pensions, and even when a Court order for maintenance existed, it was ignored by the Pensions Department and the husband's full income was used as a basis to calculate qualifications. Only if the parties were divorced was the woman's application treated as individual. This sometimes had the deplorable effect of compelling elderly women to apply for divorce in order to qualify for an invalid pension. The position could be rectified by making conditions the same as those for the old age pension—a judicial separation to he recognised, ami the maintenance order, if any, to be the basis of application. A letter was received intimating that, the society would benefit substantially from the estate of Mrs. A. M. Houghton, a life member of the society, who died recently. Great appreciation was expressed of this recognition of the value of tho societv's work.

The chairman of the ladies' committee reported that, as a result of the bridge party organised by the Jewish Ladies' Benevolent Society, £23 was raised.

The reports for the month showed that a total number of 132 cases had been dealt with during August, in volving 765 office interviews. An additional 14 cases had to be sent to the societv's solicitor for further action.