§ 94. Mr. F. Longdenasked the Secretary of State for War if he is aware of the discontent that prevails among long-service military pensioners, under Chelsea Hospital, in view of the limit of income having been lifted and fixed at £275 per year in 1939 to meet the then prevailing higher cost of living; and if he will consider raising the limit again in order to encourage fit pensioners to help in increasing production in these days of emergency.
§ Mr. M. StewartThere is no income condition for an Army service pension itself, but I assume my hon. Friend has in mind the scheme for the increase of certain pensions given under former regulations. This scheme and its conditions, including an income condition, follow the Pensions Increase Acts and my right hon. Friend is unable to consider adopting, for Army cases, standards differing from those of the Acts. The income limit for increase of pension is, however, normally £502 a year for a married man, not £275 a year. The latter figure applies only in the case of certain pensioners drawing their pensions under regulations in force before 1921 who can, if they have less than that amount of income, get a further increase over and above that provided by the current scheme.