(a) The procedure in all judicial proceedings (other than criminal proceedings) under this act; (b) The recording or registration of pension claims, pension certificates, and all other matters and proceedings in relation to pensions under this act; (c) The duties of the commissioner, registrars, postmasters, and magistrates under this act; (d) The transfer of pension certificates from the register of one district to the register of another district; (e) The issue of duplicate pension certificates in lieu of certificates lost or destroyed; (f) The forms of instruments required or authorized by this act; (g) The mode of payment of pensions; (h) All other matters in respect of which regulations are contemplated or required by this act, or which the governor deems necessary or admissible for the proper administration of this act. (2) Such regulations shall be laid on the table of the House of Representatives within ten days after the commencement of each session, and referred to such sessional committee for report as the House directs. 75. (1) The acts mentioned in the schedule hereto are hereby repealed. (2) The districts into which New Zealand was on the commencement of this act divided for the purposes of the repealed enactment shall be deemed to have been constituted under this act. (3) The commissioner appointed under the Old-age Pensions Act, 1908, shall be deemed to have been appointed commissioner of pensions under this act. (4) All appointments of officers made under the repealed acts and in force on the commencement of this act shall be deemed to have been made under this act. (5) Every pension existing on the commencement of this act shall be deemed to have been granted under this act; and all applications, investigations, and proceedings pending under any act hereby repealed may be dealt with and completed under the corresponding provisions of this act. SCHEDULE-ACTS REPEALED. 1908, No. 136.-The Old-age Pensions Act, 1908. 1908, No. 245.-The Old-age Pensions Amendment Act, 1908. REGULATIONS UNDER THE PENSIONS ACT 1913. To registrars: PENSIONS DEPARTMENT, HEAD OFFICE, Wellington, 23d October, 1913. The various acts relating to old age, widows', and military pensions have been consolidated in the Pensions Act, 1913, copy of which is herewith forwarded for your future guidance. The opportunity has also been taken of consolidating all existing departmental instructions in this circular, which is to supersede The act above referred to, besides being a consolidating measure includes a number of important amendments, which, taken in their sequence, are as follows: SEC. 2. Definition of income.-Friendly society benefits (par. b); relief by way of charity from any source up to £52 in any year (par. c); grants from Gold-miners' and Coal-miners' Relief Funds (par. d); reasonable expenditure of capital (par. g); property received from deceased husband or wife (par. h); and gifts from relatives up to £52 in any year-are now exempt as income for purposes of both old-age and widows' pensions.1 SEC. 16. Definition of child (widows').—The widow's pension is extended to include stepchildren, and also children legally adopted during the lifetime of the applicant's husband. SEC. 20. Description of property (widows').—In addition to furniture and personal effects exempted by previous legislation, the home of a widow to the value of £340-subsection 1-is now excluded from the computation of the pension. Similarly to section 10 (3), subsection (2) of this section provides that any increase in the valuation of a property used as a home subsequent to the original granting of the pension shall not affect the amount of pension. SEC. 27. Anticipated income (old-age and widows').—Under this section any applicant who at the date of application is due to receive income, either by way of earnings, superannuation or otherwise, at the rate of the disqualifying amount will not be eligible for the pension. SEC. 28. Date of Payment.-Provision is herein made for paying the January instalments of all classes of pensions before Christmas. SEC. 30. Magistrates investigation (old-age and widows').-It is herein provided-subsection (3)—that all applications shall be determined by the magistrate in chambers, the public examination in open court being done away with. SEC. 36. Transferred property (old-age and widows').-The magistrate is herein empowered-subsection (2)-to include property disposed of by will by the wife or husband of an applicant in the computation of the pension. The practice has grown under the previous law of persons with considerable estate leaving their property to children, thus enabling the widow (or widower) to qualify for the pension. The new provision has been designed to prevent this. and it will therefore be necessary in future to look closely into the position of all property previously owned by the deceased husband or wife of an applicant. SEC. 46. Pensioners in homes. The payment of instalments of military pensions, but not of widows' pensions, to the governing body of a home or hospital is herein authorized on production of a warrant which will be similar to that already in use for old-age pensions. Registrars are therefore required to issue such warrants as are necessary, and it is desired that military pensions be included in a separate warrant for convenience at head office. SEC. 53. Altered circumstances of pensioner. This provision (formerly section 48 of the 1908 O. A. P. Act) for old-age pension purposes by the inclusion of the income or property of a husband or wife. • SEC 54. Accrued amounts.-Provision is here made for paying amounts accrued to date of death in respect of both old-age and military pensions. The same care is to be exercised by registrars, in regard to both classes of pension, in recommending payment in necessitous cases only. Widows' pensions at death are of course payable to the guardian of the children in terms of section 21 of the act. SEC. 56. Penalty for fraud.-An alternative penalty by way of fine is now provided for in lieu of imprisonment. SEC. 57. Convictions for drunkenness.-The compulsory provisions under the old law (section 12, 1908 O. A. P. amendment) for the forfeiture of one or more instalments of pension for drunkenness have been repealed, and the commissioner is now empowered to pay an agent, or to suspend payment as may be deemed desirable. It will still be necessary for all convictions to be noti fied to head office on Form 23 as previously. The power, of course, still remains with the magistrate to refuse the renewal of a pension if the habits of the pensioner warrant it. Section 64 makes it perfectly clear that no one person shall be entitled to claim more than one class of pension payable under the act. 1 Sections relating solely to old-age and military pensions omitted. NOTE.-Under Section 12 (1) provision is made for an old-age pension applicant being eligible to claim the full pension immediately he ceases work if his income did not exceed £2 12s. 6d. a week. A widow's personal earnings are exempted up to £100 per LIST OF REFERENCES ON "MOTHERS' PENSIONS." 1. Abbott, Edith. UNITED STATES AND GENERAL. Public pensions to widows with children [Review of Mr. Carstens's report.] American economic review, June, 1913, v. 3:473– 478. 2. The abolition of child poverty by mothers' pensions. National health, Apr. 1917, v. 9:194. 3. Almy, Frederic. Public pensions to widows. Experiences and observa tions which lead me to oppose such a law. (In National conference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1912, pp. 481-485.) Printed also in The Child (Chicago) 1912, v. 1:51-54. 4. American academy of political and social science, Philadelphia. Social work with families... Editor in charge of this volume: Frank D. Watson. Philadelphia, American academy of political and social science, 1918. 198 p. (Its Annals, v. 77, whole no. 166, May, 1918.) PARTIAL CONTENTS.-The fatherless family, by Helen Glenn Tyson: Desertion and nonsupport in family case work, by Joanna C. Colcord; The illegitimate family, by Amey E. Watson. 5. Assistance to needy children. Nation, April 17, 1913, v. 96: 378. 6. Baldwin, William H. The most effective methods of dealing with cases of desertion and nonsupport. (In National probation association. Proceedings, 1917, p. 87-99.) 7. Both sides, a debate; mothers' pensions. Independent, Nov. 9, 1914, v. 80: 206. 8. Breckinridge, Sophonisba P. The care of needy families in their homes. Chicago, General educational committee on Chicago philanthropy [n. d.] 6 p. (Studies in Chicago philanthropy, v. 1, no. 3.) 9. 10. The delinquent child and the home, by Sophonisba P. Breckinridge . . . and Edith Abbott . . . with an introduction by Julia C. Lathrop. New York, Charities publication committee, 1912. x, 355 p. incl. illus. 24. (Russel Sage foundation publications.) Includes statistics of children of working mothers coming before the juvenile court of Cook county, Ill. Neglected widowhood in the juvenile court. American journal of sociology, July, 1910, v. 16:53-87. 11. Bres, Rose Falls. Maids, wives and widows; the law of the land and of the various States as it affects women. New York, E. P. Dutton and company [1918]. 267 p. 194cm. Mothers' pensions: pp. 74-83. 12. Bullock, Edna Dean, comp. ... Selected articles on mothers' pensions. White Plains, N. Y., and New York City, The H. W. Wilson company, 1915. xviii, 188 p. 20cm. (Debaters' handbook series.) Bibliography: p. [xi]-xviii. The act above referred to, besides being a consolidating measure includes a number of important amendments, which, taken in their sequence, are as follows: SEC. 2. Definition of income.-Friendly society benefits (par. b); relief by way of charity from any source up to £52 in any year (par. c); grants from Gold-miners' and Coal-miners' Relief Funds (par. d); reasonable expenditure of capital (par. g); property received from deceased husband or wife (par. h); and gifts from relatives up to £52 in any year-are now exempt as income for purposes of both old-age and widows' pensions.1 SEC. 16. Definition of child (widows').-The widow's pension is extended to include stepchildren, and also children legally adopted during the lifetime of the applicant's husband. SEC. 20. Description of property (widows').—In addition to furniture and personal effects exempted by previous legislation, the home of a widow to the value of £340-subsection 1-is now excluded from the computation of the pension. Similarly to section 10 (3), subsection (2) of this section provides that any increase in the valuation of a property used as a home subsequent to the original granting of the pension shall not affect the amount of pension. SEC. 27. Anticipated income (old-age and widows').-Under this section any applicant who at the date of application is due to receive income, either by way of earnings, superannuation or otherwise, at the rate of the disqualifying amount will not be eligible for the pension. SEC. 28. Date of Payment.-Provision is herein made for paying the January instalments of all classes of pensions before Christmas. SEC. 30. Magistrates" investigation (old-age and widows').—It is herein provided-subsection (3)-that all applications shall be determined by the magistrate in chambers, the public examination in open court being done away with. SEC. 36. Transferred property (old-age and widows'). The magistrate is herein empowered subsection (2)---to include property disposed of by will by the wife or husband of an applicant in the computation of the pension. The practice has grown under the previous law of persons with considerable estate leaving their property to children, thus enabling the widow (or widower) to qualify for the pension. The new provision has been designed to prevent this. and it will therefore be necessary in future to look closely into the position of all property previously owned by the deceased husband or wife of an applicant. SEC. 46. Pensioners in homes. The payment of instalments of military pensions, but not of widows' pensions, to the governing body of a home or hospital is herein authorized on production of a warrant which will be similar to that already in use for old-age pensions. Registrars are therefore required to issue such warrants as are necessary, and it is desired that military pensions be included in a separate warrant for convenience at head office. SEC. 53. Altered circumstances of pensioner.-This provision (formerly section 48 of the 1908 O. A. P. Act) for old-age pension purposes by the inclusion of the income or property of a husband or wife. • SEC 54. Accrued amounts.-Provision is here made for paying amounts accrued to date of death in respect of both old-age and military pensions. The same care is to be exercised by registrars, in regard to both classes of pension, in recommending payment in necessitous cases only. Widows' pensions at death are of course payable to the guardian of the children in terms of section 21 of the act. SEC. 56. Penalty for fraud.—An alternative penalty by way of fine is now provided for in lien of imprisonment. SEC. 57. Convictions for drunkenness.-The compulsory provisions under the old law (section 12, 1908 O. A. P. amendment) for the forfeiture of one or more instalments of pension for drunkenness have been repealed, and the commissioner is now empowered to pay an agent, or to suspend payment as may be deemed desirable. It will still be necessary for all convictions to be notified to head office on Form 23 as previously. The power, of course, still remains with the magistrate to refuse the renewal of a pension if the habits of the pensioner warrant it. Section 64 makes it perfectly clear that no one person shall be entitled to claim more than one class of pension payable under the act. 1 Sections relating solely to old-age and military pensions omitted. NOTE. Under section 12 (1) provision is made for an old-age pension applicant being eligible to claim the full pension immediately he ceases work if his income did not exceed £2 12s. 6d. a week. A widow's personal earnings are exempted up to £100 per LIST OF REFERENCES ON "MOTHERS' PENSIONS." 1. Abbott, Edith. UNITED STATES AND GENERAL. Public pensions to widows with children [Review of Mr. Carstens's report.] American economic review, June, 1913, v. 3:473478. 2. The abolition of child poverty by mothers' pensions. National health, Apr. 1917, v. 9:194. 3. Almy, Frederic. Public pensions to widows. tions which lead me to oppose such a law. Experiences and observa(In National conference of charities and correction. Proceedings, 1912, pp. 481-485.) Printed also in The Child (Chicago) 1912, v. 1:51–54. 4. American academy of political and social science, Philadelphia. Social work with families... Editor in charge of this volume: Frank D. Watson. Philadelphia, American academy of political and social science, 1918. 198 p. (Its Annals, v. 77, whole no. 166, May, 1918.) PARTIAL CONTENTS.-The fatherless family, by Helen Glenn Tyson; Desertion and nonsupport in family case work, by Joanna C. Colcord; The illegitimate family, by Amey E. Watson. 5. Assistance to needy children. Nation, April 17, 1913, v. 96: 378. 6. Baldwin, William H. The most effective methods of dealing with cases of desertion and nonsupport. (In National probation association. Proceedings, 1917, p. 87-99.) 7. Both sides, a debate; mothers' pensions. Independent, Nov. 9, 1914, v. 80: 206. 8. Breckinridge, Sophonisba P. The care of needy families in their homes, Chicago, General educational committee on Chicago philanthropy [n. d.] 6 p. (Studies in Chicago philanthropy, v. 1, no. 3.) 9. 10. The delinquent child and the home, by Sophonisba P. Breckinridge . . . and Edith Abbott . . . with an introduction by Julia C. Lathrop. New York, Charities publication committee, 1912. X, 355 p. incl. illus. 24cm. (Russel Sage foundation publications.) Includes statistics of children of working mothers coming before the juvenile court of Cook county, Ill. Neglected widowhood in the juvenile court. American journal of sociology, July, 1910, v. 16:53-87. 11. Bres, Rose Falls. Maids, wives and widows; the law of the land and of the various States as it affects women. New York, E. P. Dutton and company [1918]. 267 p. 194cm. Mothers' pensions: pp. 74-83. 12. Bullock, Edna Dean, comp. . . . Selected articles on mothers' pensions. White Plains, N. Y., and New York City, The H. W. Wilson company, 1915. xviii, 188 p. 20cm. (Debaters' handbook series.) Bibliography: p. [xi]-xviii. |