Widows may lose margin over other benefits

Widows are wary of a new Government policy that could wipe out the small financial advantage they have over other working-age beneficiaries.

The proposed "single core benefit", due to replace all main benefits for people aged 18 to 64 from 2007, is likely to be based on the current unemployment and sickness benefits, which are about $7 a week lower than the widows' benefit.

The new system will also require most working-age beneficiaries to either look for work immediately or plan to find work as soon as they are healthy and no longer looking after young children or sick relatives.

At present, the 8400 women on widows' benefits are not obliged to look for work.

The Ministry of Social Development's general manager of working-aged people's policy, Sue Mackwell, said that ministers had not yet decided on the widows' benefit or the domestic purposes benefit for women alone, but the $7 differential was due to past policies. "It's an issue that will need to be addressed," she said.

The two benefits - widows and women alone - are available only for women, and not for men who lose their wives. Auckland Widowed Society president Loretta Moreau said the widows' movement had lobbied for years to give the benefits to widowers too, but had been turned down. She said some widows would suffer if the Government abolished the separate benefit and pressured widows into working.

"If you are young enough and able to work, fair enough. Going on a widows' benefit slashed my pride," she said.

"But I had been taking care of my sick husband and had been out of the workforce for quite some time, and then I became ill and was not allowed to work."

Grey Power social services spokeswoman Violet McCowatt said many women needed "at least 12 months' grace" on a widows' benefit after losing their husbands and should not be pushed into work.

"You've got too many things to worry about. It's a very stressful time, and you don't need that to add to it," she said.

Officials are due to report to the Cabinet next month on details for the new single benefit, including the future of the widows' benefit, medical criteria for accepting that people do not have to seek work immediately, and a proposed "cost-based disability payment" to replace the existing differential between unemployment and sickness beneficiaries on one hand and invalids beneficiaries on the other.

The new system will scrap the 15-hour weekly working limit and pay everyone with disabilities the same core benefit as the unemployed, plus the "cost-based disability payment" that they will keep receiving if they get a job.

However, Sue Mackwell said no decisions had been made on whether the disability payment would require receipts for actual medical and other costs, as required for the current disability allowance.

Single core benefit

* Replaces existing benefits for unemployment, sickness, invalids, widows, DPB for sole parents, care of the sick and infirm, DPB for women alone.
* Likely to be based on current unemployment and sickness rate ($168.59 a week for single adult over 25).
* "Cost-based disability payment" for people with disabilities to replace the present $42 advantage for invalids benefits (now $210.72 a week).