MANY APPLY FOR BENEFIT

Southland Times, Issue 24114, 1 May 1940, Page 6

MANY APPLY FOR BENEFIT

New Superannuation

Scheme

TOTAL IN SOUTHLAND ALMOST 1000

PAYMENTS TO BE MADE QUARTERLY Almost 1000 persons in Southland have made application for the national superannuation benefit which has operated since April 1. The sum of £lO a year is payable to all persons aged 65 years or over. Applications have been received steadily throughout the month since the beginning of the scheme and yesterday was a particularly busy day at the Invercargill office of the Social Security Department, about 50 applications being received during the day. Applications in Invercargill reached a total of 650 yesterday. In Gore, 188 were .received during April and at Riverton the total approached 60. Queenstown, the only other branch of the department in Southland, had a total of about 40. For the four offices the total was about 950. FIRST PAYMENT Every person on attaining the age of 65 is entitled to make application for the benefit. The first payment will be for the first quarter of the financial year and will be made about June 30. A person reaching the age of 65 after April 1 is entitled to receive a proportion of the instalment for the quarter in which he reaches that age and thereafter he will receive the full payment. The value of the benefit will increase at the rate of £2/10/- a year until it reaches a maximum of £7B a year. The quarterly payments this year will be £2/10/- and in the next financial year they will rise to £3/2/6.