Odger's English Common Law

OLD AGE PENSIONS. 13
been given him either by a local custom 1
or by statute.
"Where there is such a custom, the fee must be of a fixed and
reasonable amount. In no case, it seems, can the incumbent
insist upon receiving the fee before he performs the ceremony.
And now, by virtue of the Old Age Pensions Acts, 1908
and 1911, 2 every British subject, male or female, who has
attained the age of seventy years, if he or she has been a
British subject, natural born or naturalised, for at least twenty
years, and has resided in the United Kingdom for at least
twelve of those years, and is not in receipt of an income
amounting to 311. 10s. a year, is entitled while in the United
Kingdom to receive for the rest of his or her life from the
State a pension varying according to the amount of the
recipient's income, so as to bring that income just over 13s.
a week. Thus, a person whose income does not exceed 211.
a year will be entitled to a pension of 5s. a week, which may
bring his total income up to 34/. a year; while a person
whose income exceeds 28/. 17s. Qd. but is under 31/. 10s. is
entitled to receive a pension of Is. a week only, which will
make his total income over 31/. 9s. Qd. a year, but not more
than 34/. 2s. a year. The scale of pension between the above
two extremes varies in the manner set out in the schedule
to the Act of 1908. 3
The applicant will be disqualified from receiving any such
pension if he or she has been convicted of certain offences,
and in some cases also by the receipt of parochial relief. 4
The right to a pension is inalienable by any act of the
recipient. Any assignment of it or charge on it or any
agreement to assign or charge it is declared void ;
and on the
bankruptcy of a pensioner the pension will not pass to the
trustee or any other person acting on behalf of the creditors. 5
Lastly, every person dying in England is entitled to
Christian burial, unless he died by his own hand, 6 or was
1 Bryant v. Foot (1868), L. E. 3 Q. B. 497. In this case the fee which was
claimed (13*.) was held to be exorbitant.
2 8 Edw. VII., c. 40 ; 1 & 2 Geo. V., c. 16.
8 Owing to the present high cost of living, half a crown a week has been added to
each pension, and indeed the whole scale is cow under review.
* Other disqualifications are mentioned in s. 3 of the Act of 1908, and in s. 4 of the
Act of 1911.
« 8 Edw. VII., c. 40, s. 6.
• See the Interments (felo de »e) Act, 1882 (45 & 46 Vict. c. 19).