TE AWAMUTU COURIER. Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, 15th OCTOBER, 1941. A PLEA FOR PENSIONERS.

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 63, Issue 4490, 15 October 1941, Page 4

TE AWAMUTU COURIER. Printed on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, 15th OCTOBER, 1941. A PLEA FOR PENSIONERS.

A CLAIM has been made in Parliament on behalf of the old-age pensioners who experience the difficulty of a fixed pension which does not move in sympathy with the cost of living barometer. The Prime Minister does not object to the questioning but asks that discussion should proceed in “a proper scientific way” and thereupon proceeds to quote the cost of living index figures. The complainants persist that a committee of the House has “at least twice this session” engaged in evidence-taking and claim a right to “express the truth as they see it.” Such discussion is illuminating as the whole question of pensions unquestionably deserves more attention, scientific or otherwise. First of all, popular partizan opinion to-day is encouraged in the belief that age benefits are of recent origin as one of the benefits conferred by Social Security humanitarianism. As a matter of fact age pensions first came in this country in 1899, with an age qualification of 65 years. That system endured until 1939 and in the year immediately prior to the inauguration of Social Security the sum of £3,733,238 was the value of the allotment to the old-age pensioners. Until that date pensions were a charge against the Consolidated Fund and the effect of the Social Security scheme was to relieve that Fund of a direct liability. Two years later, in 1941, old age “pensions” were changed in name to “benefits” and became a charge against special taxation amounting to the sum of £10,767,823 in the Social Security accounts and the amount of the age benefit paid from this fund was raised to a total of £7,101,346. Thus, the first “scientific fact” revealed is that the Government relieved the Consolidated Fund of the claim for pensions by giving them another nicer-sounding name to justify new methods of tax collection. Another factor is the considerable increase in the number of pensioners or, as they are perhaps more tactfully called to-day, beneficiaries. According to the Social Security Report there were 97,606 beneficciaries on March 31st last, and, if the Government statistician is to be believed, there were approximately 135,000 people in this country eligible by age to claim the benefits. Thus, by simple calculation, it is revealed that five out of every six people on attaining the age qualification received benefit and it seems to suggest an abnormal claim upon the funds. It can be remembered that in the 60— 65 age group who are legally qualified for the Social Security age benefit are the superannuitants from the Public Services who have contributed to State. Superannuation Funds, of banking and insurance companies with funds for the provision of retiring allowances, of those in commercial life who have made provision by contribution to the National Provident Fund and in addition to all these are the men retiring from the professions, business and farms; most of

whom have been in a position to anticipate retirement. Can it be said of New Zealand to-day that five out of every six people reach the age of 60—65 years and find themselves dependent on the pension or benefit provided by the Social Security Funds? That surely, is a “scientific” question which the Prime Minister should answer. The country is presented with the fact that the working people are called upon to pay a direct taxation levy of £10,767,823 for Social Security and of this sum no less than £10,405,460 is paid away in the form of various pensions or “benefits”. The conclusion reached—be it “scientific” or not -is that taxation channels are being exploited by the Government and that some at least of our people are raiding the pensions. For instance does it not seem absurd to find in the Social Security Report that £299,161 was paid away last year for unemployment benefit—after providing considerable sums for age,

I widows, orphans, family, invalidity, sickness and emergency benefits—when, actually, the country has been

iso stripped of manpower for the army. The indications all point to the fact that the Prime Minister should call for a “scientific” check on this pensions raid; that if the raiding was checked then either the incidence of taxation and its effect on the cost of living barometer could be corrected or the genuine pensioners could be more adequately provided for. In short, scientific pensions should replace what has strong suspicion of being political doles.