aT ° receive ” of: shelter, A wide. gap. -petweén: the. ; basic _ needs... ‘of . welfare . recipients and the - “basic | benefit payments they Report. entitled. Adequacy. of: Assistance Benefits . in Greater Vancouver’’ released recently. After estimating the cost — utilities, food, — clothing, personal care items and transportation, the report indicates that most. basic assistance payments should be increased in the 35 - 45 per cent range, some by as much as 72 per cent. “These — calculations: take” into account a rate structure - which provides increases to recipients who have been on welfare for over four months, and differences in . payments linked to the age- - sex variations of . family groups assisted... ye The study finds that a single person, aged 45 to 55, on welfare for less than four months needs at least $126. added to the present basic ‘monthly allowance: of $175 “iS revealed in a. United Way Social Planning and Research Committee - “The | Basic > | Page 18, December 27, 1978-NorthShoreNews Even with these i increases, the. majority _ Of - welfare recipients © in’ Greater Vancouver. “would still be existing © below > ‘Tecognized Poverty lines. Cs . The income assistance under the ‘GAIN. No allowance: for overage payments, family, allowances. or earnable income has been. made. On the other hand, no _ allowance has been made for. - recreation, running a home, of buying or repairing basic household _ equipment, ‘school costs and ~ _ the “many other incidental _ expenditures most. families take for granted. . - Statistics show that since 1966 the number of single people receiving welfare has declined,. while the total‘of _ all familes - but particularly single parent families ~- has_ increased as a proportion of — ‘those receiving help. Consequently, children now. -make up more than half.of — all those who. ‘depend -on income assistance ‘Programs, to. provide essential goods and services. A single parent with a 10 year-old boy and a 13 year-old.‘ girl. requires another $121 a month during — the’ first four months. of assistance. A family on: welfare for more than four months, with three children between the ages of infant and 12 years, requires @ minimum of $251 extra. Health Minster Monique Begin today announced a 9.0 per cent increase, effective January 1979, to the Canada Pension Plan currently paid to more than one million recipients. The Minister also’ ‘an- nounced the new maximum amounts which will be paid to persons who qualify for benefits in 1979. The current retirement pensions, survivors’ benefits, an estimated persons, will be raised to 9.0 per cent to reflect increases in the Consumer Price In- dex. Approximately 660,500 of these persons are retirement pensioners, while 73, 300 are disabilit aid to pen- sioners and 171,5 are surviving spouses. Another 126,000 payments are for children who receive’ benefits as orphans or children of disabled contributors, In addition, .there are 22,700 combined benefits, such as two-parent - and Welfare | benefits | disability and — 1,054,000, Predicting a pattern -of poverty, passed from one generation to the next, the Feport comments: “Children denied the opportunity to benefit from good nutrition, adequate clothing and housing, quite a PP benefits to increase for a surviving spouse who | retirement | pension and a survivors’ - benefit. receives » a For persons qualifying in 1979, the retirement pension will be $218.06. a month. The maximum, disability pension ayable in -1979 will be 52 216.06. a month, while benefits. for disabled | con- tributors’ children and orphans of. deceased con tri utors will $52.51. The maximum increased persons * who qualify in 1979, reflect the rise in the contributory . benefit levels, for earnings ceiling (Year's Maximum . Pensionable Earnings), which was recently announced ,by Revenue Canada as $11,700 for 1979. The rise Maximum Pensionable Earnings results in an in- crease in) the maximum amount of money beople contribute to the nada Pension Plan and therefore an increase in benefits. report ‘emphasizes - that. it is ‘concerned solely - ’ with the adequacy of basic _ (Guaranteed | . Adequate Income) Program. | -leisure, -en- - tertainment,. the high cost of maximum in the Year's - apart from ‘having. un-.. ‘satisfied. ‘needs of an in-.” ‘tellectual, -- recreational ; cultural. United Way’ has ‘con- _ ducted similar . reviews. in has been prompted mainly — _by the steep rise in the cost -1952,.1958 » and. 1966. However, | the “report. .ob-_ . serves: BO level: - of on practically everything! Furs. too. low to. adequately. meet - and. words, nature, are. _ being prepared to repeat. the. a Present cycle of Poverty." of inadequacy | over r the past . 20 years.” . “In spite of sporadic. in- . creases in.the: dollar amount. of “income — _ benefits, the : recipients’ income’ remains a be. obtained | from: Way. of the Lower Mainland, 1625 West - Vancouver, B.C. V63 1T9 . assistance a oe their basic needs. In other. income | assitance., benefits, On average, have . remained at the same degree: ..} The timing of this: inquiry” of living uring the last four: _ presented im six parts on CKVU-TV, | “21. The series dealing with Imperial life in Rome from . 50 BC to 50 AD begins with ‘A Touch of Murder’, on i Mondsy January ist, f 1979. George B Baker! is is Tibertus. ~ Copies of the feport may United. - Sth Avenue, ‘ . Fashions. Accessories. Shoes. Gifts. _ And, that includes our men’s wear! AT PACIFIC CENTRE ~ Holt’s open Wednesday, Thursday & Friday till 9 p.in.