SUPERANNUATION PLAN

Press, Volume LXXIV, Issue 22388, 29 April 1938, Page 12

SUPERANNUATION PLAN

Position of Private

Funds

EXEMPTION FROM TAX

SUGGESTED

(TRESS ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.)

WELLINGTON, April 28. Giving evidence. to-day before the Select Committee on National Health and Superannuation, Sir William Hunt, chairman of administrators of Wright. Stephenson and Company's pensions and benevolent funds, said that the administrators thought it would be a definite hardship if the contributors were compelled to pay to the national scheme and then have the benefits from it largely cancelled out because of the benefits they obtained from' their company’s scheme. An equitable basis for adjustment would be to exempt contributors to the company’s fund from the payment to the national scheme of Is in the on their salaries and from participation in any rights to national pensions. As taxpayers, they would be sudscribing to the national scheme through contributions to • « from the Consolidated Fund, They would also be paying Is in the £ IP 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 for Finance (the Hon. W. Nash) said that if the administrators of the fund were asking for a 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 threepence from the Is in the £1 tax. Sir William: You could get an actuary to decide what the amount should be. • , . ■ . Mr Nash: It seems hbgrless for a man of your standing to ask for exemption of the Is because Hhey are losing little more than twopence. Sir William: They are losing a great deal more than twopence. The chairman (the Rev. A. _H. Nordmeyer); Are you of the opinion that the business, world generally would welcome a scheme similar to yours?—l think they should. 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. National Provident Fond . An exhaustive survey of the National Provident Fund was given in a statement submitted by Mr H. Sinel, superintendent of the fund. The statement dealt with all the activities of the fund, and showed that at December 31, active members under the main fund and superannuation sections totalled 28,950. A long 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, and including a covering letter in which the Commandery in New Zealand of the Order offered to the Government its full co-operation in ambulance transport and district nursing services, also in any other way the services of the St. John organisation might be utilised. • ' v

"PAYMENT TO ALL

OVER SIXTY

DOUGLAS SOCIAL CREDIT SUGGESTIONS

PROPOSED METHOD OF FINANCE

(FSSSS ASSOCIATION TZLKORAU.) WELLINGTON, April 28. Payments to all persons over 60, regardless of private resources, and freedom from taxation in money to provide the necessary benefits, were suggested by Mr D. C. Davie, when giving evidencfe on behalf of the Douglas Social Credit Movement before' the Health and Superannuation Committee to-day. „ _ Mr Davie contended that the Government’s superannuation proposals did not go far enough, either in the amount receivable or in scope. It was very important Jo “de-class’’ any benefits New Zealanders might receive as a result'of State action, and the discrimination in payments, as proposed by the Government, was contrary to the wishes of a majority of electors. “Associations of people in industry must result in any group creating an excess of production over consumption,” Mr /Davie continued. “It is perfectly sound procedure to monetise this excess of production on a purely arbitrary! basis, and pay superannuation from the fund to be established as a result of this procedure,” ~ In conclusion, Mr Davie said: I would like to impress on this committee, and on the Government, that, rightly or wrongly, there is a deeprooted conviction throughout New Zealand that taxation is already far too high, and that financial orthodoxy is largely, if not wholly, responsible for the incidence,”

NUkSING SERVICES

DEVELOPMENT OF ASSOCIATION REVIEWED

(FBESB ASSOCIATION TELEGRAM.) v WELLINGTON, April 28. A review of the development of the New Zealand Registered Nurses’ Association, and an outline of its activities, was given by Misses C. McKenny (president), J. Bicknell (past president), and C. Clark (secretary) before the Health and Superannuation Committee this afternoon. The witnesses drew attention to the domiciliary nursing service provided, and said the association would be prepared to extend this service to meet the requirements of the nursing service being considered in conjunction with the national health insurance scheme. , The association requested that, patients should be allowed the choice of a public or private hospital, a condition being that the fee paid to the owner of a private hospital should not exceed the public, hospital charge. It was also requested that nurses should be engaged through the association’s bureaux, or bureaux not run for profit, and that a register be kept of fully qualified nurses. The witnesses set out the scale of fees covering a nurse’s services.