Railway Superannuation

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30478, 27 June 1964, Page 12

Railway Superannuation

Sir, —A wrong conception altogether of railwaymen’s superannuation has grown over the years among politicians and the general public. When the fund was instituted all moneys deducted from railwaymen’s pay' were to be paid into a specific fund which had to be Interestbearing, and was to be used solely to meet superannuation commitments. The late Mr Louis Mcllvride, national secretary of the A.S.R.S., published a pamphlet clearly showing that if this had been done the fund ’then, as today, would have been self-support-ing. This destroys the false conception that taxpayers subsidise railwaymen’s super-

annuation payments. All railwaymen have income tax and social security payments deducted. from their “gross” earnings. On reaching retirement age and going on the fund they again have to pay income tax or social security tax (sometimes both) out of their superannuation “pay.” Since its inception Topi Governments have consistently raided the fund. —Yours, etc., TOM BRYCE.

June 19, 1964. [The Minister of Railways (Mr McAlpine) replies: “Before April, 1948, railway employees paid their superannuation contributions into the Railway Superannuation Fund. The Superannuation Amendment Act, 1947, amalgamated the various State superannuation funds into one, known as the Government Superannuation Fund, from April 1, 1948. Amounts deducted from wages and paid into this fund are taxed at the social security rate of Is fid in the pound, but an employee’s superannuation contribution for the financial year can be claimed, together with life insurance premiums, as an allowable deduction for income-tax purposes. The maximum tax deduction of this type is £250. The employing authority pays into the Government Superannuation Fund a subsidy equal to the contributions of its contributors. Any deficit in the fund is met by a payment from the Consolidated Fund in accordance with the provision of section 95 of the Government Superannuation Act, 1956.”]