SOCIAL INSURANCE

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 66, 11 December 1917, Page 7

SOCIAL INSURANCE

NATIONAL PROVIDENT FUND

NOW WELL ESTABLISHED

SPEECH BV THE MINISTER IN CHARGE,

The National Provident Fund Der partment has moved its offices to tako up quarters in the second floor of tho new Police Headquarters Buildings in Johnston Street. Tho offices formorly occupied in Manners Street had proved to bo unsuitable for the increasing work of tho Department. There the work had to bo carried on in a number of small rooms, whereas it was dosirablo that there should bo a single largo room for the main office. This has been obtained in tho Polico Building. It is a fine, well-lighted and well-ventilated room, with a frontago to Johnston Street of 102 feot, and a depth of 23 feet. The offices of tho superintendent and tho actuary are situated en the north side of the Soot.

The Minister in charge of the fund (the Hon. A.- M. Myers) celebrated-tho opening of tho new offices yesterday morning by visiting tho Department, and making a personal inspection. He also delivered an address to tho staff on the increasing work of the National ■Provident Fund.

The Superintendent _ (Mr. R. E. Hayes) welcomed tho Minister, and remarked with satisfaction on the suitability of the new offices for the purposes of the Department. The fund, he said, was now out of its babyhood, and was well established. Many of tho problems in regard to the outside work of the office had been satisfactorily solved, and now the Department was free to expand its activities. Tlio Postal Department had supplied to the office some officers with special qualifications for tho outside work in connection with the fund. Tho services of theso men had been- very valuable to the fund, for their work was tho life-blood of the scheme—tho bringing in of new business. Some of tho other difficulties which wore common to any new scheme had como up from time to time. One of them was lack of knowledge of what the. aim of tho fund was to be. It -was rather embarrassing to- find in some official circles the opinion expressed that tho scheme should be run on commercial lines. Ho thought that anyone, after the most cursory perusal of the Act, or anyone with a knowledge of social insurance, would know that it was never intended that the scheme 'should be a paying one. Compared with any National Provident schemes launched in other countries this scheme of ours was far ahead of all rivals. For the. time that it had been exigence it had established itself 011 a better footing than any other scheme previously attempted elsewhere. This was due, ho thought, to tho fine work done by tho outside men, and to the inherent advantages of the scheme itself The Minister thanked Mr. Hayes for his cordial welcome, and expressed his pleasure in meeting the staff, a privilege which was not often enjoyed by a Minister in charge of a Department. Mr. Myers went on to make some general reiharks about the Department aild its growth and development. Staff and Office Organisation. "Tho moving of tho head office staff into these premises indicates _ the growth of business of the National Provident Fund in a practical manner^ 1 said Mr. Myers. "The fund's activities have increased at such a rate that the question of providing office accommodation has been a difficult 0110 for several years, but the transfer to the present commodious offices, with the ' special equipment that has been provided, will enable the work to he carried 011 under much better ■ conditions than hitherto, and will, it is certain, make for more efficient and satisfactory work. It is of interest to note that when the Department had a, small staff only dealing with friendly society business the proportion of .female officials was about 20 per cent, of the total, whereas to-day in tho head office staff the percentage is nearly 60 per cent, of the total, a striking indication of tho changes that have taken place during the last few years in connection with the employment question. "While the Department's expansion has necessitated the head office seeking better office accommodation, the question of local public at tho principal centres has also received attention, and a special office for the public has just been opened in Manners Street (near the Albert corner), Wellington: As the bulk of the contributors to t-bo fund live and work in the industrial areas of the larger cities, tho policy of providing public offices suitably situated the workers' convenience is recognised. Excellent re-

suits have so far attended tlie steps that hayo boon taken in this direction, and ifc is hoped by this means still further to oulargo tho scope of tlio fund's operations and objects, for tlio benefit of tho working population. Increasing Business. Tli0 i progress of the fund since its inception bas been steady and on solid lilies, and it is gratifying to record that this has boon fairly well maintained during tho last two years, notwithstanding tho withdrawal for war servico of tho_ bulk of the young lives of tho Dominion. Tlio National Provident Fund Act was passed in 1910, and came into operational March 1, 1911, when tho first contribution to tho fund (25.) was received. From this small beginning the fund bas accumulated until to-day it stands at £156,739, whilo tho annual contribution rate is £41,122. The revenuo of- tlio fund has increased each year by substantial percentages. Sinco the dato of tho first payment the total amount paid in by control tors lias boon £124,710. This sum represents about 390,000 separate accounting transactions, ranging from 9d. upwards, and this gives a fair idea of tho work involved in administering a weekly contribution system. The business has been conducted at management rates, which comparo favourably with similar outside businesses. "In the first year's operations, when the enrolment of contributors to the fund was left entirely to voluntary effort, about five hundred members were enrolled. The board, however, early recognised the necessity of instituting a propaganda policy by means of lecturers, supervisors, etc., and the excellent result of this system was so'ou apparent. The membership at tho present times exceeds 10,000.

Benefits of the Fund. "Up to tho end of last month tho sura of £21,638 lias teen paid out through the fund for maternity allowances. The first five years' existence of the fund having now been passed, tho substantial and valuable benefits for the protection of contributors' families are becoming payable. The board has recently approved allowances, to widows and children, aggregating to very large sums, although only small contributions had boen paid by the contributors. Those cases indicate in actual form the real national functions which the fund was set up to fulfil, and with tho wastage of life now going on this phase of the fund's operations is of particular value. ' "iii'G fund's status financially is worthy of remark, the actuary after valuation having reported the fund to be actuarially sound. This, with tlio State's guarantee, furnishes a security to contributors which is unequalled, and especially is this so when it is remembered that for the one contribution members are assured in four valuable benefits, viz., m'aternity, incapacity, widow and children's allowances, and the annuity. cExpanding Business. "Since the original Act was passed in 1910 extensions on national lines by the establishment of branches dealing with local authorities and the friendly societies have been effected, and steady progress is being made in'these directions. A number of local authorities' staffs havo been incorporated, and important expansions in this direction arc in hand. The amount paid through friendlv societies for maternity allowances. from the fund for this year up to tho end of November amounted to £9000, and the annual estimated amount of these allowances, £22,000 — will apparently be fully required, Future of the Fund.

"The work of the fund up to the present has been mostly initiatory, but it can now be assumed that the basis of a sound and valuable schemo has been successfully laid. The experience gained in the administration of tho fund shows that in the near future the question of extending tho principles of the Act along universal and compulsory lines should be considered. The economic and political changes now taking place, generally will bring social problems such as this more prominently to the fore than ever, and Governments will be called upon to take additional steps to assure tho security and well-being of all individuals, in the State, in order to maintain the unity and strength of the nation. These questions are receiving attention, and I hope to see a further enlarging of the scope of State action which is embodied in this Act.

"At the present time, when so many of the flower of our race are dying for tho cause of civilisation and democracy on the battlefields of the world; when, second to tho efficiency and equipment of our fighting forces, tho question of conserving human power both relatively and absolutely is the most urgent national problem of our country; one feels the more keenly the great benefits, and desires the more strongly an extension of the scope of insurance organisation on a national scale. Insurance Is Necessary. "It is our duty to institute measures of insurance in connection with the real wealth of our race, which is in the number and quality of its men and women, so that in the hour of need our nation may not bo found bankrupt. "The experience of every country that has adopted a system of national insurance has been to the effect that tho amount of sickness in such country has been lessened, and to a great extent sickncss has been prevented altogether in certain cases, from the fact that there has not been so much uneasiness of mind concerning ways and means in certain contingencies. "In order to repair to some extent the serious wastage of our man-power now taking place by the forces of destruction waging in this war, New Zealand will have to think and act constructively in order to prevent to the 1 utmost possible extent any avoidable waste of man and woman-power at home. National insurance is only one phase of the general social development of our country.

"The aim of civilised statesmanship is not the wealth and efficiency of tho few, but the greatest physical, mental and spiritual force of the entire community, by which alone any nation can maintain its position in the forward march of progress and enlightenment. From this point of view, national insurance is a work of primary importance. It secures the masses of the population against need at a time when thc.v are unable to maintain their usual earnings; it strengthens the people by the effect of its own co-operative effort; it certainly aids largely in preventing a large degree of social unrest, and in creating and maintaining social peace and harmony." Mr. Myers referred, in conclusion, to the good work done by the superintendent and other senior officers, and by the staff generally. After'the cpremony the visitors and the staff took tea, which had been provided by the ladies employed in the office.