The petition which is expected to carry 1,000,000 signatures and to be presented to the House of Commons to-morrow for the purpose of pressing the reduction of the pension age limit For spinsters from 65 to 55, may be said to have its inspiration from the Nħtional Spinsters' Pensions Association, the pioneer leader of the movement being Miss F. White. Last year the Association held a demonstration. in Hyde Park to recruit spinsters in support of the movement, Judging from the size of to-morrow's petition, it has been most successful. It then passed a resolution formally appealing to the Government to "grant without delay pensions at 55, instead ct at 65, to spinsters who contribute to the National Health and Pensions Fund." The resolution was based on a demand for fair treatment and equality of pension status for the spinster with the widow who, under the present rules, can claim a pension at 55, the sum expended on widows' pensions being £23 million as against £3 million for spinsters. It was contended that, taking the expectation of life into account, the spinster had "a good chance of paying all her life to the National Health Insurance Fund and getting nothing cut" Recognition of the difficulty of finding continuous employment for a spinster of over 55 evoked considerable sympathy for the resolution. How far the Government can go in rectifying what appears to be a gross injustice probably depends on the financial issues involved.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.