PENSIONS.

Digger (Invercargill RSA), Issue 36, 19 November 1920, Page 10

PENSIONS.

CON DITTON S A ND ANOMALIES. ACT AMENDMENT. ("Quick March"). Unlikc the gratuity a pension can be claimed as a right by those eligible, and all such claims are deeided by TTie War Pensions Board and bv no one lse. Those eligible for pensions are : — 1. — A soldier suffering from the effects of wounds or injuries received on service. 2. — A soldier suffering from a disease contracfed or aggravated 011 active service. 3. — A soldier suffering from injuries received or disease contraeted in camp. , (Either in New Zealand or abroad). 4. — The wife and children of a deceased soldier. 5. — The deceased soldiers. A dependant is a member of a soldier's family who is wholly or partly dependent upon his earnings at any time within twelve moriths prior to his joining the N.Z.E.F. and the members- of the family (in addition to wife and child) are father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, stepfather, stepmother, grandson, granddanghter, brother, sister, half-brother, half-sister and mother-in-law. A. dependant also includes a father or mother who was not actually dependent during the said twelve months but is without adequate means of support. 6. — The wife and children of a disabled soldier if the Pensions Board considers that his disablement prevents the soldier from maintaining them in reasonable comfort. The law also stipulates that, before a wife can obtain a pension, she must prove that she was married before disable. ment, or, she must marry the soldier in New Zealand two years after his discharge, or she must' have been engaged to the soldier before his departure. TO MEET SPECIAL CASES. The last Confer.ence deeided to send the following resolution to the Minister of .War Pensions for consideration : — "Where a discharged soldier dies as the jfesult of disability incurred on service and leaves a widow, such widow shall be entitled to a pension for herself and any children of the marriage, irrespective of whether the soldier was engaged or married to such person prior to enlistment." Explanation. — To carry this proposal into effect the N.Z.R.S.A. suggests the following clause as a substitute for paragraph (c) of the 1917-1919 Acts, including the deletion of the proviso in the 1917 amendrnent : — "Any other woman who becomes by marriage in New Zealand the wife of a member of the forces at any time after his discharge provided that in the event of the death of such member within one year of his marriage as aforesaid without leaving issue, whether born or en ventre sa mere, his wife shall thereupon c,ease to be a dependant within the meaning of this sec. tion, but in any such case, there may be paid to her a gratuity of an amount not exceeding twice the annual value of her pension." j The N.Z.R.S.A. presses this principle strongly, as under the prcsent regnlations a young soldier, who was not married or engaged to be married at the time of his departure from New Zealand with the N.Z.E.F., is at an unfair disadvantage compared with the soldier who was so married or engaged to be married at the. time of his departure. There is, however, no just reason for such discrimination. On a supposition that every claim is genuine the wife of one soldier has every whit as much right to the benefit. of a dep,endant's pension as the wife of the other. The above clause only seeks to provide tests of a genuine marriage, so as to ensure that a soldier knowing that he was dying, could not simply marry a woman with the object of leaving her a pension for life. These tests are either : — 1- — The husband must live for one year after the marriage ; or 2- — If he die yv/ithin one year he must leave children. Note. — If these conditions ar,e not complied with the board has discretion to grant a gratuity of two years' pension as under the present law. S^STEM AND SCHEDULE. Military pensions are of two kinds : — 1. — Pension proper for war disabilities. 2. — Supplementary pension for economio disafcility. The first hardly needs explanation, as the maximum pension for all soldiers with. out a commission is at present £2 per weeic for total disablement, with a pro

rata scale for the lesser injuries. Here is the schedule upon which the pensions depeuds : — WAR PENSIONS ACT, 1917. Pensions Payable for Speeific Injuries. Ratio of Pension to Full Pension Natnre of Injnry. payable in Cases of Total Disr ablement. Per Cent. Loss-of two limbs ... 100 Loss of limb and eye 100 Loss of both hands 100 Loss of all fingers and thumbs ... 100 Loss of both feet 100 Loss of hand and foot ... v 100 Loss of sight 100 Total paralysis ... 100 Lunacy 100 Permanently bedridden Io0 Wounds or injuries to head or other or.gan involving total permanent disabling effects 100 Advanced incurable disease ... 100 Yery serious facial disfigurement 100 Amputation of right armxthrough shoulder-joint ... 85 Amputation of leg through hip-joint 85 Loss of speech 80 Severo facial difigurment 80 Amputation of left arm through shoulder-jqint ..." 80 Amputation of right arm at or above the elbow 80 Amputation of leg through kneejoint or thigh ,80 Amputation of left arm at or below elbow 75 Amputation of right arm below elbow "* 75 • Amputation oi leg below knee ... 75 Total deafness 70 Amputation of left arm below elbow 70 Amputation of right hand ... 65 Amputation of left hand 60 Loss of one eye 50 Loss of four fmgers of right hand 50 Loss of four fingers left hand Loss of three fingers of right hand 40 Loss of thumb of right hand 40 Loss of three fingers of left hand 30 Loss of thumb of left -.and .... 30 Loss of two fingers of right hand or left hand 25 Loss of index finger of right hand left hand ... 20 Not,es. — (a.) In cases of left-hahded men, eertified to as such to the satisfaction of the Board, pensions in respect of injury to the left arm or hand will he at the rat© prescribed as for injury to the right arm or hand, and compensation in respect of injury to the. right arm or hand will be at the rate prescribed as for injury to the left arm or hand. (b.) For the purposes of this schedule the expression "loss of includ.es permanent loss of the use of." (c.) Where a member of the forces suffers or has suffered more than one of the injuries mentioned in this schedule he shall not in any case be entitled to receive more than the maximum pension payable as for total disablement. The pensions payable (a.) to the dependents of deceased soldiers, (b.) to totally disabled soldiers, and (c.) to partially disabled soldiers, are set out in full below A.— PENSIONS RELATING TO DECEASED SOLDIERS. 1. — A widow. The permanent pension of a widow varies according to the rank of her deceased husband thus : —

Including. Weekly Pay. Lieut.-Colonel £3 6 0 Colonel £3 8 0 Brig.-General £0 10 0 A pension to the wife of a deceased member of the N.Z.E.F. shall cease on her re-marriage provided that there may be paid to her a gratuity not exceeding two years' pension. 2. — A child. The sum of 10s a week is

| allowed for each child under 16, but in the case of a female child the pension may, if the Board thinks fit; be^paid until she reaclies the age of 17. Any child suffering from any mental or bodily infirmity • may receive a pension as long as the Board thinks fi t. In the case of orphan children, the maximum pension for each chihl is 15s per vveek. If the Pensions Board is satisfied that the total amount received by a widow and children (if any) of a deceased soldier is insufficient to maintain them in their pre-war standard of comfort, it may increase the widow's pension by 15s per week, but the total amount payable to the widow and children shall not excecd £4 a week. 3. — A widowed mother. The Government ha.s provided the widowed mother, whose deceased or disabled son was her sole support, the same pension as the widow of a deceased" soldier without children. 4. — Dependants of a deceased soldier. In regard to claims by dependants, the Pensions Board inquires into all the sources of property and income. of the applicant. Power is given to the Board to grant a pension to any person (not necessarily a relative) who satisfies the ' Board that material loss has been sustain. ed by the death or disablement "of a soldier, and who ha& not adequate means of support. B. — TOTALLY DISABLED SOLDIER. 1. — The soldier. All soldiers under - commissioned rank receive £2 per week. But in the case of officers the weekly pension varies with the rank, thus : —

A totally disabled soldier who requires an attendant may be granted £1 per week over and above his pension and supplementary. 2. — His wife. The wife of all totally disabled soldiers (under commissioned rank) receive £1 weekly. But as in the case of the officer so with his wife; the wife of a lieutenant receives £1 ls 3d a week ; the wife of a captain receives £1 2s 6d ; the wife of a major £1 6s ; the wife of a lieutenant-colonel £1 10s 6d ; the wife of a brigadier-general £1 12 6d. 3. — His children. As in the case of children of a deceased father the pension • allowed is 10s a week under 16. 4. — Dependants. Any dependant of a disabled soldier is entitled to apply for a pension if the soldier is unable to provide the same support as rendered before the war, and the amount will he deeided by the Pensions Board. The pension of a soldier and his dependants must not, with the supplementary pension added, exceed £5 per week. (c.) A partially-disahled soldier. The pension of a man suffering, say, from a minor war disability, e.g., shellshock, neuritis, gas, rheumatism, Bright's disease, etc., is assessed by the board after careful and thorough consicleration. If a soldier in regular employment has to lose wages to enable him to undergo medi. cal treatment for a war injury (or disease) he is intitled to a grant, but not exceeding £1 per week. An application accompanied by his employer's certificate showing the loss of wages must b,e forwarded to the Commissioner of Pensions. The question of a man's financial position is not taken into consideration when assessing his pension ; the law specifies a certain payment for a certain injury, and there is no departing from this. Now, consider the supplementary pension. This pension, the maximum for which is £1 per week, cannot be claimed as a right, but is granted as an economic compensation' hetween his standard of living before the war and what it now is. Any one who is affected thus may apply for this supplementary pension, The granting of this pension lies entirely in the hands of the Pensions Board, and both, financial position and economic loss are taken into consideration while dealing with each application. A supplementary pension is paid from the date of application. Retrospective payment for this pen. sion is not valid. Owing to the unhe-ard of heights to which the eost of living has soared, the pension is now rightly considered as heing totally inadequate to pensioners; consequently, at the last Dominion Conference the following resolution was unanimously carried : — That it be an instruction to the incoming Dominion Executive to take the necessary steps to have the schedule of pensions for specific injuries of the "War Pensions Act, 1917, and the second and third schedule thereto regarded by the addition of plus percentages up to 175 per centum (tnat is, £3 10 per week) and the total

percentage to be the minimum pension for total permanent disablement, supplementary pensions and attendajit s pension to be over and above such rate, and that the dependant's pension b© increased pro rata, and that the tjiird schedule of the War Pensions Act, 1917, be regraded on account of certain anomalies existing therein." MISCELLANEOUS NOTES REGARDING PENSIONS. 1. — Discipline. As thousands of men are receiving pensions involving over one million pounds annually, some disciplinary action is provided for if required, thus, if a soldier refuses medical treatment which is both nec,essary and heneficial, his pension may be reduced by the Pensions Board. Soction 6 of the War Pensions Amendrnent Act states : "If the board has • reason to believe, on the advice of a medi. cal board consisting oi not less than two registered medical practitiojiers, to be appointfed by the Minister of Defence, that any member of the Forces in receipt of (or entitled to) a pension should, in his own inter.ests, undergo medical or curative treatment, whether in hospital or elsewhere, it may . reduce by one-half the amount of the pension to which the member would otherwise be entitled, if and so long as the member without good and sufficient cause refuses or wilfully fails to undergo such treatment." Then again, a man may have his pen.sion withdrawn or reduced for misconduct, for example, if he is convicted of any offence punishable !by impriisonment for three months or upwards and dishonouring him in public estimation. 2. — Missing soldiers. If a soldier is officially reported as missing, a pension is payable to his dependants in the same manner as if he hard died of wounds or injuries; but, if he is subsequently reported as living and disabled, the above pension will be withdrawn and one in respect of his disablement substituted. In case of the soldier being consequently reported as living and not disabled, the pen. sion, of course will be withdrawn and any money paid as pension may be deducted from the accumulated pay of that soldier. Nurses' pensions. (a;) In case of death. The dependants of a deceased nurse receives £2 5s per week, and those . of a deceased sister or matron £2 10s per week. (b.) In the case of disablement. A nurse receives £2 2s 6d a week and a dependant £1 ls 3d, a sister or matron receives £2 5s per week and a, depenaant 2s 6d per week. 4.— -Penalties. To prevent any sharp practice among soldiers the Government had to frame the following regulations : — Every person is liable to a fine of £100 or to 12 months' imprisonment, who: — (a). Obtain s any pension or instalment which is not payable. (b.) Being a claimant for a pension does not faithfully disclose particulars of his property or income. (c.) Obtains payment of any pension or instalment by means of any faise or misleading statement. (d.) Makes or presents any faise document.

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Lieutenant £2 2 6 Captain ! ... £2 5 0 Major ... £2 12 0 Lieutenant-Colonel ... £3 1 0 Brig. -Gen. & Maj.-Gen. £3 5 0