SUPERANNUATION SCHEME

Press, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22120, 16 June 1937, Page 10

SUPERANNUATION SCHEME

MINISTER DISCUSSES STATE PLANS DETAILS NOT YET DECIDED (l'!i£Sa ASSOCIATION TI2I.Kutt.YM.) AUCKLAND, June 15. "The Government is not yet. in a position to discuss detailed proposals for the national superannuation scheme which it hopes to place before Parliament next session." This statement was made in an interview by the Minister for Pensions (the Hon. W. E. Parry), who will play an important part in drafting the final legislation for presentation to Parliament. "The scheme is being drawn up with the same care as is being taken in the prepaz-ation of the national health insurance scheme," Mr Parry said. "Indeed, although the two schemes will be separate as pieces of legislation, they are both component parts of the same • social structure which the Government is building." Investigations into all aspects of the scheme were being carried out by a committee of members of Parliament and departmental officials, Mr Parry continued, but the whole position was so complex that nothing in the nature of a complete report had been made. However, substantial progress had been made, and a skeleton outline of some of the main suggestions had been sent to London for perusal by the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. M. J. Savage) and the Minister for Finance (the Hon. W. Nash). "These skeleton suggestions do not represent the final scheme," the Minister said. "That has still to be shaped from a mass of valuable information which the committee is collecting and studying. The question is made even more difficult by the fact that there are so many pension, provident fund, and insurance schemes already in existence. If we could start with a clean slate it would be a comparatively easy matter to evolve a scheme which would do justice to everyone; but we have to see to it that our proposals do not present any hardship to those who are already making provision for their old age. The progress made so far has been very encouraging, and I have no doubt that we shall be able to place before Parliament a scheme which will represent a substantial improvement on the present conditions."