§ 112 and 114. Sir W. Smilesasked the Secretary of State for Commonwealth Relations (1) to what extent the £1,800,000, in the hands of the Commissioners of the Indian Military Widows' and Orphans' Fund on 31st March, 1948, will be used for the benefit of the subscribers to the fund and their dependants; and to what extent the capital sum will eventually be incorporated in the general finances of this country;
(2) how many widows and orphans are now in receipt of benefits from the Indian Widows' and Orphans' Fund; on what date it is anticipated that there will be no more legal claimants for benefits; and how will the capital from this fund eventually be disposed of.
§ Mr. Gordon-Walker265 widows and 369 orphans are now in receipt of pensions from the Indian Military Widows' and Orphans' Fund. It may be a century before there are no more legal claimants for benefits. For the next 30 years or so children, who may eventually become beneficiaries, may still be born to subscribers. Daughters who do not marry draw pensions until death.
The sum in question, which represents the capital of the fund, is already being used for the benefit of subscribers and dependants. The pensions are based on actuarial valuations of the Fund and its estimated income. These valuations, undertaken every five years, ensure that the fund pays the maximum benefits its resources will allow. As time goes on, and the number of surviving beneficiaries diminishes, the outgoings will increasingly be met out of capital. If the actuarial 277W expectations are exactly realised, the fund will have been just used up when the last pensioner dies.