NEW PENSIONS SCALE.

Taranaki Daily News, 29 November 1917, Page 5

NEW PENSIONS SCALE.

DECISIONS OF THE BOARD. IMPORTANT POINTS. After the beginning of January the increased pension rates authorised by the War Pension?, Act of last , session will be payable to soldiers and their dependents, and the board lias been considering how it will proceed to bring the new scale into operation as applying to those persons already in receipt of pensions under the old scale. The Pensions Board has decided to increase automatically without applica. tion by the pensioner, with the first instalment, falling due after January 1, 1918, all pensions in force on that date which are payable to a totally disabled soldier, or to widows of deceased soldiers, and also those pensions payable to widowed mothers, as prescribed by a [ specinl section of the Act. Under this j section widowed mothers, if they have proved partial dependence on a deceased soldier, are entitled to, a pension equal to "half the amount that might be drawn by a widow of the soldier without children. Pensioners who wish to take advantage of the provisions of the Act by which allowances may be made to soldiers or to widows who can show to the board that their pensions are not sufficient to maintain them in their accustomed standard of comfort must make application to the 'board, and their cases will be considered.

It has probably been assumed by pensioners iu receipt of less than the full pension of their rank that in view of the fact that the pensions for total disablement have been raised, pensions for partial disablement may be raised in a proportionate degree. This may not always be the case. In actual practice the board has been granting to these partially disabled men rather more liberal amounts than those to which they would have bjeen entitled under the scale. Men entitled to a quarter pension have been gfelited 10s a week, half-pension men have been regularly given £1 a week, and three-quarter-pension men 30s a week, and these arc the rates to which they will be entitled under the new scale when it comes into operation. It is therefore improbable that there will be any general raising of the rates of pension to partially disabled men. They will all bo free to make application to the beard fot extra pension if they are in a position to show that with pension and earnings they are unable to make as much money as they were able to earn before they were disabled. This application will involve a re-hearing of their applications, and if they are under hardships the board will have an opportunity of correcting any previous injustice, should such be found to exist.