BENEVOLENT FUNDS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 98, 28 April 1938, Page 8

BENEVOLENT FUNDS.

CASE OF CONTRIBUTORS. POSSIBLE HARDSHIP. (By Telegraph.—Press Association:) WELLINGTON, this doy. In giving evidence to-day before the Select Committee of the House of Representative's which is inquiring into the Government's national- health and superannuation scheme, Sir W. D. Hunt, eh air man of the administrators of Wright, Stephensons and Company's I pnsions and benevolent funds, said the administrators thought it would be n definite hardship if its contributors were compelled to pay to the national scheme, f»nd then have the benefits from it largely cancelled out because of the benefits they obtained from their company's. Scheme. '"• -■■> '■■'■-.& basis fdr? adjttstinent v be ! t<» exempt the contributors to the, company's fund from, payment to the national scheme of l/\in the . £ on their salaries, and from participation iu any rights to the national pension. As taxpayers they would be subscribing to the national scheme through the contributions made to it from the Consoli-, elated Fun*. They would also be paying 3/"'in the' £ to the national fund on' their income other than from salary or ; wages;' That should be sufficient to entitle them to all benefits other than pensions. The Minister of Finance, the Hon. Walter Nash, said that if the administrators of the fund were asking for proportionate exemption, that would seem, to be legitimate, but they were asking for. exemption from other things. The increased pensions payment proposed would involve less than 3d from the 1/ in the £ tax. Sir William: You could get. the actuary to decide what the amount should be. Mr. Nash: It seems hopeless for a man of your standing to ask for exemption of 1/ because they are losing a little more than 2d. Sir William: They are losing a great deal more than 2d. The Rev. A. H. Nordmeyer (chairman of the committee): Are you of the opinion that the business world generally would welcome a scheme similar to yours? —I think they would. Would you be behind the Government if the Government instituted such a scheme? —If it were a scheme on the lines of my company's. An exhaustive survey of the National Provident' Fund was. given in a statement submitted by Mr. R. Sinel, superintendent of the fund. The statement dealt with all the activities of the fund. Statistics relating to the fund at December 31 showed that active members under the main fund and superannuation sections totalled 28,950. Co-operation Offered. A lengthy statement was submitted to the committee .by Mr. C. S. Falconer, secretary of the St: John Ambulance Association, outlining the work and aims of the association throughout the Dominion. The statement included a covering letter in which the commandery in New Zealand of the Order offered to the Government its full co-operation in connection with ambulance transport and district nursing services, also in any other way the services of the St. John organisation might be utilised.