STATE PENSIONS.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1835, 22 August 1913, Page 7

STATE PENSIONS.

OPERATIONS FOR THE YEAR. The annual report of the Pensions Department, presented to Parliament yesterday, is tho first since tho Department Was re-created separately on November U, 1912. Much of tho statistical information contained in tho report has been anticipated by Minitserial statements made from timo to time in and out of the Houso. Summarised, tho total pensions and the liability thereon at tho eloso of tho year were u's follows:-;j 1 .. ' '' 1 .. ■ ■ . No, of Liability. Pensions. X Old ago 10,509 412,408 Widows' 1,313 24,7G8 Military 568 19,026 Totals 18,390 450,202 Tho percentages of pensioners drawing . tho full pension are as follows:—Old age, : 84 per cent.; widows', 95 per cent.; mili- j tary, 80 per cent. Tliirty-t\vb old ago pensioners are drawing, tho, mcr?ased pension provided by tho Act of 1911 for mules . at GO and femqtes at 55, who havo two or more children under It years of age. The number of these last yoar was 18. Tho number of claims for old age pensions lodged under tho head of newclaims during the year, totalled 2499, a decrease of 476 on tho figures of the previous year. These, with the 690 cases awaiting investigation at tho se'vontythree agencies of tho Department at March 31, 1912, made a grand total of 3189 dealt with, which wero accounted for as follows:— •• ;• • '•* Granted 2,072 Rejected (including deaths and withdrawals) 598 Being investigated on ' March 31, 1913 519 Total , «MB9 Of the 2072 granted, 136 represent applicants who had been previously iu receipt of n pension. Military Pensions—The actual claims under this head recorded to March 31 totalled 788, of which number 577 wero granted. The total amount credited to date fiom , the endowment land revenue is as follows :— £ ~s. d. 1910 20,142 12 7 1911 16,758 9 8 1912 18,709 11 fl 1913 17.824 3 11 Total 78,434 17 8 . The grand total paid in old age pen* sions to date now stands at .£3,672,421. The cost of administration for the year amounted to ,£5260 16s. 4d., an increase of JCB7O on tho total for the previous yenr. Tho proportion of the Mai cost to the total amount paid in pensions during tho year was 1.19 per cent-