Old Age Pension Act, 1924

Review of existing old age pensions for purpose of permanent reduction.

4.—(1) Immediately upon the passing of this Act every pension officer shall proceed to review all old age pensions payable in his district which—

(a) have commenced to accrue before the passing of this Act or shall commence to accrue before the first appointed day, and

(b) immediately before the first appointed day are payable at a rate exceeding one shilling per week, and

(c) are payable to persons who on the first appointed day shall not have attained the age of eighty years,and upon such review the pension officer shall reduce or otherwise adjust such pension to the rate at which the same would be payable according to the scale set forth in the First Schedule to this Act, and shall fix the rate of such pension accordingly.

(2) Every pension liable to be reviewed under this section shall, on and after the second appointed day, be payable at the rate fixed by the pension officer on such review in lieu of the rate set forth in the Second Schedule to this Act.

(3) Any person who at the commencement of this Act is in receipt of a pension liable to be reviewed under this section and claims to be aggrieved by the review of that pension under this section, may appeal against such review to the local pension committee, who shall consider the matter and give their decision thereon in the same manner and subject to the like appeal to the central pension authority as if the review under this section was the report of a pension officer on a claim referred to him for report and inquiry under section 7 of the Act of 1908.

(4) On and after the Friday next after the final determination of an appeal under the foregoing sub-section, the pension the subject of such appeal shall be payable at the rate (hereinafter called the final rate) finally fixed on such appeal in lieu of the rate (hereinafter called the original rate) fixed by the pension officer under this section, and in the event of the final rate being greater than the original rate the difference between such rates for the period during which the original rate was payable shall, on or as soon as conveniently may be after the Friday aforesaid, be paid to the person entitled to receive such pension.