TEACHERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 193, 9 May 1908, Page 13

TEACHERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS.

COMPARISON OF SUPERANNUATION SCHEMES. . , AN INTERESTING ANALYSIS. At a meeting of tho : Wellington District Teachers'. Institute last'evening, Mr. Wm.' Foster,' 8.A., president of the Institute, and a member of the Teachers' • Superannuation. Board, delivered an interesting paper on- tho " Comparative Advantages and Disadvantages of the Teachers' Superannuation Act and tho Public Service Superannuation Act." As members of the Institute were awaro, tho Public Service Superannuation''Bill was passed in the dying 'hours of' 1907 session. Considerable interest had'been taken by teachers in the progress" of the'measure wlion it was beforo the House; >the tivo of tho Institute-had watched its developments closely, and when it was ascertained .that the provisions of the Public Service Act gave more favourable terms to contributors than did those of tho Public School Teachers' Superannuation Act. of 1906, they had endeavoured' to' secure thej insertion of a clause ; in the Public Service Act which would enable teachers to decide, by a vote, which Act they would corfi© under. The clause was inserted in tho Bill- When beforo the House of Representativ.es, but, much to their disappointment, was struck out in tho Legislative Council. The Premier had since promised that the matter woiikl bo considered during the coming session, and it was with a view to enlightening members as\to the relative advantages and disadvantages of the respective schemes that he proposed'to compare the. two. ■■ ■ ■ • 1. ORDINARY CONTRIBUTORS. He would first compare .the conditions under which ordinary contributors—those who had entered either service subsequent to tho coming into force of the respective Acts, and whose appointments were subject to the condition that they became contributors to their respective Funds—were'placed. Contributions.—Tho contributions '. were the sanio in each scheme:'.

Service. —In the Teachers' Act, service was cumulative, that w.TS to say, if a parson left the profession,'arid subsequently, returned, his previoiis service would bo taken into account, provided ho had not retired from the Fund. Under the Public' Service Act continuous service only was counted.. The Teachers' Act was therefore more favourablo with regard to that'point. Retiring Age—The retiring ago, under their own Act, was, for ;men, .optional at 60, and compulsory at 60; f6r'women,' it was optional at 50, and compulsory at GO. The corresponding provision in the Public Service Act was much more .'favourable.', There, the. compulsory retiring .age was, for'.men,' 65; and' for - women, 55; there 'was no ■ agelimit fixed for optional retirement beyond tho proviso that men might retire on completing 40 years' service} arid'women'at .the 30th year. This .W4s\muchvmore ' favourablo than tho optional'. clause under the Teachers' Act, for it ) was possible under this proviso for a male civil .'servant .to enter the service at/ 5ay,,.16,; and retiro at 56, four years sooner than would ,be possiblo under <the -Teachers' Act." ■■ ' , Pensions—The basis adopted in the Public Service Act, for the ; com'piitat.ion- of penI. sions, 1 was distinctly mbre'ia'vourabld'fllari ! the corresponding cla'ii£o\ilf,'their'/ bwn''Act. I Tho' Teachers' Act - provided that onc-six- ! tietli of the .average salary , earned during the years of contribution would be paid on retirement; in other wofds;''if an ordinary contributor retired : -30, Borvico he would receive annually thirty-sixtieths, or one-half-of his average''earnings during .that period. Under the"TvMc Service Act the retiring contributor • ticeived, for each- year of service, one-sixtiet-n of his average? earnings during the last threo years or. contribution; as-ho would thou bo in receipt or his maximum salary, his, average would, be 'creator,!'and his:;iponsion..consequently, more liberal than it would ''liave " been' under the Teachers'- Act. An additional advantage was given under a .which.-: stated; -that ■if by' age . or-infirmity' tho of- a cpntributor .'•''had been '.reduced;'^.his pension would be computed on,'tho; average earnings far .the: three 'years;, preceding reduc-tUThe-benefits confoVffed'.bjr eabh^Act. in .respect of retirement .voluntarily,; for medical unfitness, or on dismissal, w® r ? similar— return of contributions', without interest.'Deatli.—(a) Loaviiig.', widow: In', the' case. of 'a teacher,, tho deceased's total contributions, less any-sum during lite, were roturned to , tlio''widow; plus an an-, nuity of £18. Under;:tlie; .Civ.il.Service- Act tho corresponding p.royiso i .,was, less favour-, able—tlio widow had to choose between, a return of her late .husband's,.contributions, and an annuity—the, one' ,or\ tho other. Where there was no . widow, tta contn buttons were returned,' in. : each case, to tho legal representatives.;-/iuider both. Acts,the children" of a deceased' contributor.' received ss. per week, up to tho age. of 14. 2. ORIGINAL MEMBERS.

i Original members .wprp defined as those with service previous"to-the passing of their, respective ■ Superannuation Acts; and such previous service was,added to .their subsequent years of contribution, in:.'computing their -pensions.' Tho, ; essential difference lay in the comnutatiou of back service,, which was that under the Teachers' Act; tho basis for the back-servica."period was l-120th, while under tho Civil Service Act,, tho basis was • l-60th.: That wasto ':'say, a . teacher with 20 jears back service-was entitled .to 20-120ths, or one-sixth of his average earnings during these years, .' while'his 'more fortunate friend in tlio,,Civil.Service was entitled to count, for the same period, 20-Goths, or one-third, and from this, plus 1-60tli for'each year of contribution to tlio Fund, an estimate wa?, taken, on the. average' earnings for the ' lastthree, years ■ of ./service. Further, back'servico, in the: casd: of a teachcr, was limited to .1877, whereas tho Civil servant could -date back to tho days of the Provincial Government. On all these points tho advantage was in favour of tho Civil Service Act. ... ! .

THE CASE SUMMARISED. 1 With certain exceptions, said the speaker,, the Public Scrvico Act,,both from the standpoint of original members and ordinary contributors, -was undoubtedly the -better the principal exception related to-tlio. provision for tho widows of deceased, contributors, and hero the advantage was. distinctly in,favour ■of tho Teachers' Act. Legislation would .probably bo' introduced for tho better definition of, "service." .... ..... The saliont advantages -of cach , scheme wore:—• ■ •• Teachers' Act—Mora generous allowances to widows. , Civil Service Act—Better annuities and earlier retirements. ... •' It inight bo suggosted, observed Mr. Foster, that, the good points of both schemes might be combined. , Personally, ho did not think that was practicable, _ nor.: did- ho think that teachers, as good citizens, should ask for it. The Public Service Act, lie thought, gave as much as the State had any right to givo, and teachers, as citizens, were entitled to the same benefits as wcro public servants, as citizens..- 'The. State could only afford to place on tlio Statuto Book such scheme as was stamped with tho imprimatur Of its accredited jactUaries. The Government Actuary had said that tho Public Servico scliomo was sound:, would ho say so if tho allowance to widows .wore increased? The speaker felt sure , lie would not. They must, therefore, he prepared, if given the option, to tako tlio Public Service Act a3 they found .it. If they looked at tho question from, ,tho broader viewpoint, there could bo but ono answer. Fromthe individual, or personal point of viow, it would be found, lie .thought, that all women original members,'. and nearly all men, would find the Public -Service Schome more liberal, and vote to .oomo in under it. It would be highly desirables -from tho State's view-point, if this wci'o..done, for it would bb tho ! beginning ofthe' ultimate consolidation of all tlio superannuation schemesrailway, police, teachers' civil servants'— already in existence, -and possibly tlio basis of a 'scheme for universal superannuation.