From the starting point that the contribution of the insured woman would be equal to half the contribution of the insured man, it was found that the appropriate contribution to provide all the benefits of the Act (including old age pensions between the ages of 65 and 70) in the case of a boy of 16, the age at which contributions begin, was iod. a week. Certain savings, however, resulting to the Exchequer from adjustments in Unemployment Insurance consequent on the Pensions Act were taken into con sideration and as a result the rate of contribution was fixed at 9d. per week, a uniform rate for all men without having regard to their age at the date that they became insured. As the con tributions are based on the rates appropriate to those entering the scheme at the age of 16, they are insufficient to provide the benefits for entrants over that age. The residual liability is car ried by the Exchequer. In the first two years the contributions were more than sufficient to meet the payments but thereafter there is a growing demand on the Exchequer. This liability, which includes the Exchequer's contribution to old age pensions between 65 and 7o, was estimated to amount to a net total of £46,000,000 over the first ten years, and the Act provides for its liquidation by a uniform payment of £4,000,000 a year.
The contribution for men is divided between the employer and employee in equal shares except in the case of the exempt man, where the employer pays his normal contribution of 41d. and the employee 22d. In the case of women 21d. (excepted women 2d) is paid by the employer and 2d (excepted women Ild) by the employee. Although an exempt woman is not insured under the pensions scheme her employer is required to pay his normal contribution of 23c1 a week.
Contributions begin at the age of 16 and, as regards the em ployee's portion, cease at 65 but the employer's liability to con tribute terminates only on the termination of employment. The employer's contribution for an employee over 65 is 9d (for a woman 7d) but as his contribution for health insurance (42d for man or woman) ceases on the employee attaining 65, his total liability under the two schemes is unaltered. The employer pays the weekly contributions for health and pensions by affixing a single stamp to the contribution card of the employee and he is entitled to recover the employee's share by deduction from wages. For persons in excepted employment, who are outside the health insurance scheme, contributions are paid periodically in cash. The contributions for voluntary contributors are the same as for employed contributors, viz. 9d and 41d for men and women respectively, the whole amount being paid by the contributor.
The number of insured persons paying contributions during the first year of the scheme was approximately 16,300,00o.
Benefits and Qualifications.—The benefits for widows and orphans—an orphan is defined as a child both of whose parents are dead—are : (i) Widow's pension—a payment of io/– a week to the widow of an insured man until she reaches the age of 70 or marries, with an additional allowance for children under the age of 14 or under the age of 16 if still at school, at the rate of 5/– a week for the eldest and 3/– a week for each other child.
A widow who is in receipt of a widow's pension on reaching the age of 7o is entitled to an old age pension at the same rate. A widow on remarriage continues to receive the allowance for chil dren under the specified age. The allowance for children is, on the death of the widow, transformed into orphans' pensions.
(2) Orphans' pensions—a payment of 7s. 6d. a week for each child, under the specified age, of an insured man, being a married man or a widower, or of an insured widow.
An orphan's pension is payable to the guardian or other person having the charge of the child.
The qualifying conditions are: (i.) the insured person must have been insured for not less than 104 weeks and not less than 104 contributions must have been paid: (ii.) over the three con tribution years (running from July in one year to June in the next) preceding his death an average of 26 contributions a year must have been paid, but for this purpose weeks of incapacity for work due to sickness and weeks of genuine unemployment count as weeks for which contributions were paid: (iii.) he must have been resident in Great Britain for two years immediately prior to his death and his last employment (excluding temporary employment) must have been in Great Britain. The last condi tion does not apply to soldiers, sailors and airmen.
A pension or an additional allowance is not payable to or for any person (a) while an inmate of a poor law institution, unless admission was for the purpose of obtaining medical or surgical treatment, when there is no disqualification, up to a maximum of three months from date of admission, so long as treatment con tinues : (b) while detained in a lunatic asylum : (c) while being maintained in any place as a pauper-lunatic or criminal lunatic: (d) while undergoing a period of imprisonment given without the option of a fine. A widow is not entitled to her pension, but the additional allowance remains payable to her, while she is cohabiting with a man as his wife.
With certain exceptions, a person who is receiving a World War pension for the death of any person, other than a son, is not entitled to a pension under the Act, but if the pension which otherwise would have been payable under the Act is the greater, the excess is paid as an addition to the War Pension. A similar provision applies to a person who is receiving a pension for the death of any person whose death was attributable to service at any time with the naval, military or air force.