Poverty and Inequality
1944-10 1944 1940s 29 pages 20 Men over 65 and women over 60 may now have their pensions supplemented by the Assistance Board to total the sum of 22/6 for a single person and 37/- for a couple living together. A separate allowance is now made for rent, equal to the rent actually paid by the applic...
| Institution: | MCR - The Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick |
|---|---|
| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
London : C. W. Publishing Ltd.
October 1944
|
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/10796/418A556F-5DB4-462C-8A50-C2B397E72065 http://hdl.handle.net/10796/364D8729-4B12-4C38-9C93-C69B46A0CA56 |
| Summary: | 1944-10
1944
1940s
29 pages
20 Men over 65 and women over 60 may now have their pensions supplemented by the Assistance Board to total the sum of 22/6 for a single person and 37/- for a couple living together. A separate allowance is now made for rent, equal to the rent actually paid by the applicant, so far as is reasonable. Defects. (1) A serious defect is the piecemeal and unco-ordinated provision of pensions, and the administrative muddle. Here is a table showing where responsibilities lie :— (i) Contributory Pensions Ministry of Health. (ii) Non-contributory Pensions Customs and Excise. (iii) Supplementary Pensions The Assistance Board. (iv) Persons ineligible for pensions Public Assistance. (2) Out of these four types of provision three are dependent upon the means test. (3) Large numbers of people are ineligible for pension. These may formerly have earned more than the income limit for compulsory insurance ; or they may have worked on their own or in non-insurable occupations ; or they may be the widows of such people. Since 1937 there is such a thing as voluntary insurance under the contributory scheme ; but a deterrent is that in this case the employee must pay the whole contribution himself without help from his employer. (4) There is no provision for welfare. "The New Survey of London Life and Labour (1932) gives figures for North East London showing that, of 358 persons over 60 applying for relief, 255 were living alone ; and of these 168 had nobody on whom they could depend for (non-financial) help."* (5) National Health Insurance. All employed persons with incomes up to £420 are compulsorily insured under the National Health Insurance scheme. But the benefits are so small that the position of a worker without capital behind him may, if he has an illness lasting any length of time, be very difficult. (i) The standard rate for a deposit contributor is 18/- a week for a man, and 15/- for a woman. Most workers, however, belong to an Approved Society, in which case the rate of benefit is rather higher. But in any case it is an entirely inadequate sum even for one person to buy the necessities of life, and still more inadequate to buy the extra comforts and nourishment which a sick person requires. (ii) As for the unfortunate dependents of the insured person, there is no provision for them at all. They will live on their savings if they have any, and then resort to the Public Assistance Committee. * Social Security, Ch. VI., by Joan Clarke, p. 171.
15X/2/98/13 |
|---|---|
| Physical Description: | TEXT |