PENSIONS SCHEME.

Colonist, Volume LVII, Issue 13815, 9 July 1915, Page 6

PENSIONS SCHEME.

GOVERNMENT PROPOSALS

(From our own Correspondent.)

, Wellington, July 3. The War Pensions Bill, introduced in the House of Representatives to-day, provides for a liberal scale of pensions to New Zealand soldiers and sailors or their dependents. The pension scale in case of death 'starts at 25s weekly for tho wife of a pfav&to, bombardier, lance-corporal, driver, gunner, trooper, sapper, bugler, trumpeter, able seaman, and equivalent ratings, with a-maxi-mum aggregate of £3 per week, while in ease of disablement these? classes of men will obtain 25s weekly, with an additional 12s 6d to tho wife and 5s per child up to an aggregate of £3 weekly. The pensions increase according to rank, that of a captain's widow being £2 5s weekly, with 5s for each child and a maxiitmm of £4 3s, or £2 weeidy in case of disablement t\ ith £1 additional for wife and 5s per child, the maximum being £4 3s. The definition of child is very wide. "Child means a dependent under the ago of 16 years being a son, daughter, step-son, stepdaughter, illegitimate child, or adopted child of a member of the forces."