The normal rate of contribution under the act-9d. for a man and 41d. for a woman—includes the contribution for widows' and orphans' pensions. Every person who is insured for old age pen sions is insurable for widows' and orphans' pensions but certain persons are insured for the latter purposes only and pay a reduced contribution, man 7d. woman 31d., so that 2d. in the case of a man and id. in the case of a woman is the share of the combined contribution which is attributable to old age pensions between the ages of 65 and 7o. (The contribution arrangements under the act of 1925 are explained in greater detail in the article NATIONAL INSURANCE: Widows' and Orphans' Pensions.) The act provides old age pensions at the uniform rate of io/– a week, to insured men and insured women while between the ages of 65 and 70, and to the wives between these ages of insured men who are themselves entitled to pensions. An insured person claiming a pension must show (a) that he has been continuously insured for 5 years at the date when he attained the age of 65; (b) that 104 contributions have been paid; (c) that over the last three "contribution years"—running from July to June—pre ceding his 65th birthday an average of 39 contributions a year was paid (for this purpose weeks of incapacity and weeks of genu ine unemployment are counted as weeks for which contributions were paid; (d) that he has been resident in Great Britain for the two years immediately preceding his 65th birthday and that his last employment (excluding temporary employment) was in Britain. Special provision is made for a person who on attaining the age of 65 has not been continuously insured for five years. He becomes entitled to a pension at the expiration of five years from the date of his entry into insurance if he is then under the age of 7o, provided the other conditions, which are applied with reference to the date on which he completes five years of insur ance and not to his 65th birthday, are satisfied. Although con tributions cease to be paid by him when he attains 65, the em ployer's contribution continues to be payable so long as he is employed and these contributions will count for the purposes of conditions (b) and (c) above.
The provisions of the act relating to the payment of old age pensions to persons between the ages of 65 and 7o took effect from Jan. 2, 1928, two years after the date when the Act came into operation. The initial group of pensioners consisted of persons who on Jan. 2, 1928, were over the age of 65 and under the age of 7o with certain modifications of the statutory conditions.
The disqualifications for the receipt of a pension are the same as those under the acts of 1908 to 1924. (4ee p. 76o under act of 1919).
Unrestricted Old Age Pensions at 70.—A person who is entitled under the Act of 1925 to an old age pension while between the ages of 65 and 7o becomes, on attaining 7o, entitled by virtue of the act to an old age pension at the rate of ro/– a week with out regard to his means. The act also provides an unrestricted old age pension at 7o for a woman who has been receiving a widow's pension.
For insured persons who attained the age of 7o before Jan. 2,
1928, the date when old age pensions to persons between the ages of 65 and 7o began to be payable, the act also granted unrestricted old age pensions at 7o. The wife or widow of an insured person entitled to one of these pensions was herself entitled to an un restricted old age pension on attaining 7o. To secure the benefit of this provision, which took effect from July 2, 1926, it had to be shown that the claimant had been insured under the National Health Insurance Act on April 29, 1925, the date of the intro duction of the Pensions bill, and remained insured until he attained 7o. As a person who was insured on attaining 7o, at which age contributions ceased to be payable under the National Health Insurance Act, remained an insured person for life, all persons who attained 7o before April 29, 1925, and were insured on reaching that age possessed the necessary insurance qualification and became entitled to unrestricted old age pensions as from July 2, 1926. Thus one important effect of the act of 1925, in the case of persons within its scope, including the wives and widows of insured men, is to remove the means test imposed by the acts of 1908 to 1924 as regards old age pensions at 7o. In the last week of March, 1928, 287,531 persons who had established their title on an insurance basis were in receipt of pensions.
Administration.—In England and Wales the old age pension scheme embodied in the act of 1925 is administered by the min ister of health and in Scotland by the Scottish Board of Health. Claim forms are obtainable at all post offices and claims may be made within four months before attaining pensionable age. Un. successful applicants have a right of appeal to an independent body of referees. By the end of March, 1928, 524,828 pensions had been awarded to persons between the ages of 65 and 7o.
Reciprocal arrangements have been made between Great Britain and Northern Ireland under which qualifications acquired in one country are of equal value in the other on change of residence.