DECEMBER 2005

Women who serve or have served with the New Zealand Forces

We often forget about the women who served in the Forces and received a Service Number. They too are entitled to make applications for War Disablement Pensions.

Last December I was talking to a New Zealand Ex-Wren at the Ex-Wrens Association Wellington Branch’s Christmas Lunch. We started talking about service and the differences from her time in the NZ WRNS in WWII and mine some years later with the British Service. She told me that her place of work in Auckland was close to the firing ranges and that on warm days it was necessary to have the windows open. This meant that she was exposed to loud noise from the ranges, and of course she was not invited to wear any hearing protectors. She now has some reduction in her hearing and wondered whether there was any link to her days in the NZ WRNS.

I talked her into applying for a War Disablement Pension for Noise Induced Hearing Loss, otherwise known as Sensori Neural Deafness. After completing and sending off her application form she was sent to an audiologist who confirmed that she does indeed have hearing loss and of the type caused by exposure to noise. She was awarded a War Disablement Pension for the hearing loss and also her Tinnitus, which is that annoying ringing or buzzing in the ears.

This means that she now has an extra income that she might not otherwise have had, which is tax free and is not counted as income by the IRD or by Work and Income (except in relation to a need for a Special Needs Grant or Special Benefit), and she is able to ask War Pension Services to pay for hearing aids or other means of hearing assistance, such as special alarm clocks, telephone amplifiers, tinnitus maskers and so much more.

There are many women who have served or are still serving in the Army, Navy or Air Force and they have to fulfil the same criteria as the men, so persuade them to talk to their RSA Welfare or Pensions Officer to pursue their applications. These women also need to note that the War Disablement Pension can be received in addition to the Surviving Spouse Pension.