§ 76. Mr. Royleasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance how many widows are in receipt of the 10s. pension under the National Insurance Acts.
§ 86 and 87. Mrs. L. Jegerasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance (1) if he will state the value of the 10s. widows' pensions in terms of today's cost of living, compared with its value in 1925, 1938 and 1945; and
(2) how many widows are in receipt of a 10s. pension; and if he will estimate the cost of restoring the original purchasing power of the pension to the level prevailing when it was first introduced.
§ Mr. MarplesAbout 165,000 widows are receiving the 10s. widow's pension. The equivalents today of 10s. in 1925, 1938, and 1945 are 6s. 0d., 5s. 4d. and 6s. 11d. respectively. The cost of restoring the original purchasing power of these pensions to the level prevailing in 1925 is estimated at about £2¾ million. These calculations are based OR the cost-of-living index up to 1947 and the Interim Index of Retail Prices thereafter.
§ 81. Mr. McAddenasked the Minister of Pensions and National Insurance what steps he has taken to notify war widows, who have attained the age of 70 years, of their possible entitlement to additional pensions; how many applications have resulted from such notification; and in how many cases back payment of pension has not been permitted beyond the period of six months.
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§ Mr. MarplesEarlier this year letters were sent to war widows over the age of 70 who had not previously claimed an insurance pension, advising them of their possible title to such a pension on their late husbands' insurance. About 12,100 claims have been made. The statutory Regulations which preclude retrospective payment of pension for more than six months before the date of the claim have to apply in all cases.