SUPERANNUATION PAYMENTS

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 79, 3 April 1943, Page 4

SUPERANNUATION PAYMENTS

"Joe" in Thursday's Star, while criticising Mr. J. Elliott, makes several most damaging omissions. He ignores the fact that "Smith," the railway superannuitant, paid 1/ in the £ of his salary for 40 years to purchase his annuity, while "Joe" or "Jones" to get his age benefit could not have paid social security charge, if any, for more than four years. Next he omits to state that "Smith" now pays 1/ in the £ on his annuity, while "Jones" pays no tax on his age benefit, though "Smith's annuity saves the fund from having to pay to him an age benefit. Finally, "Joe" omits to state that the so-called "bankruptcy" of State superannuation funds was caused by the Reform Government's misappropriation of the State servants' contributions to the fund, just as if the premiums paid to an insurance company were used up for outside purposes, leaving insufficient funds for paying insurance claims when they became due. The later alleged "dips into the Consolidated Fund" to pay annuities were merely piecemeal refunds for the Government's previous raids on our contributions. ANOTHER SMITH.