PENSION SCHEME

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 7, 10 January 1938, Page 10

PENSION SCHEME

AUSTRALIAN REPORT

COST TO THE COUNTRY

MEDICAL BENEFITS

A pension payment of 20s a week for men from the age of sixty-five years, and of 15s a week for women from sixty years, arc features of the suggested compulsory national insurance scheme for Australia, as outlined in the report submitted a few months back by Sir Walter Kinnear, the noted British national insurance expert. He proposed that the scheme should be of a contributory nature, and that it should apply to all persons except non-manual workers whose remuneration exceeds £3G5 a ■ year. Provision is also made for sickness benefit of 20s a week for men and 15s a week for women. Heavy Government subsidies are required to finance the proposals.

The report states that under such a scheme more than 1,800,000 persons would be insured, on a basis of weekly contributions of 3s for men (employer Is 6d, employee Is 6d) and 2s for women (employer Is, employee Is). Of these contributions, the following amounts would be for the health scheme:—Men, Is 3d; women, Is 2d. COST OF THE PROPOSAL. Commonwealth subsidies would be as follows:—Health scheme: £900,000 a year for 35 years, designed to liquidate in that time the deficits which would be shown by the scheme in the initial years of its operation. Pension scheme: £1,000,000 a year for the first five years, increasing thereafter at the rate of £500,000 a year until a maximum of £10,000,000 is reached, in the year 1960, at which date the grant would be stabilised.

To meet the growing cost of the scheme, provision would be made for the increase of contributions by 6d a week for both men and women (3d employer and 3d employee) at the end of five years, and an additional 6d for men only at the end of 10 years after the inception of the scheme.

Payment would be by means of stamps affixed to a card.

The health scheme, which would be carried on by approved societies under an insurance department o£4he Commonwealth, would cover the following health benefits:— ; HEALTH BENEFITS. (a) Medical benefit: Consisting of free medical attendance and treatment, including medicines and certain medical and surgical appliances. (b) Sickness benefit: Men, 20s a week; women, 15s a week, and, in addition, an allowance of 3s 6d a week for .each dependent child under 16 years. (c) Disablement, benefit: Men, 15s a week; women, 12s 6d a week, and, in addition, an allowance of 3s 6d a week for each dependent child under 16 years of age. (d) Additional benefits out of surpluses revealed by periodical valuations of the assets and liabilities of approved societies. Such additional benefits might include increases in the sickness and disablement benefits, and payments for dental and ophthalmic treatments, and treatment in hospitals, convalescent homes, etc. Sickness and disablement benefits would be payable up to 65 years of age in the case of men and 60 years in the case of women. RATES OF PENSIONS. The pension rates proposed would be:— (a) Widows' pension: Widows of insured men to be. paid 12s 6d a week until the date of the first increase of contributions (five years from the inception of the scheme), and thereafter 15s a week for life, or until remarriage, and, in addition, an allowance of 3s 6d a week for each dependent child under 16, ■

(b) Orphans' pension: Each dependent child under 16 of an insured person (including insured widows) to receive 7s 6d a week.

(c) Old age pension: Insured persons to be paid for life—men, 20s a week from the age of 65; women, 15s a week from the age of 60, and, in addition, 3s 6d a week for each dependent child under 16.

Old age pensioners would be entitled to medical benefit for life. All pensions would be paid free of means, occupational, or nationality tests. Sickness benefits would begin after the payment of 26 weekly contributions, the disablement benefit after 104 weekly contributions, widows' and orphans' pensions after 104 weekly contributions, and old age pensions after the insured persons had been at least five years in insurance, and paid 260 contributions. ADMINISTRATION OF SCHEME. The report suggests that supplementary pensions should • be paid by the Commonwealth if the "insurance" benefit was less than the non-contribu-tory invalid or old age pension to which the pensioner would otherwise be entitled.

The report also suggests the establishment of an insurance department of the Commonwealth which would be responsible, through a Minister, to Parliament for the enforcement of the Act and the general administration of the scheme. The detailed administration, other than medical benefit, would be carried' on by societies approved by the department. No medical examinations would be required, as persons entering into insurance would be in employment. Insured persons, other than married women, who had been in full compulsory insurance for two years, and who passed out of the range of the scheme, should be entitled to continue as voluntary contributors. Insured persons who neglected to join approved societies should be allowed to become deposit contributors, their benefits (administered by the central department) to be limited to the amount standing to their own individual credit. MEDICAL SERVICE. The report suggests the provision of a contingency- fund for each society, built up by deducting id from each weekly contribution, to be used to meet any deficiency shown when the assets and liabilities of the society are periodically valued, or eventually, if there be no deficiency, to be used with any other surplus for the provision of additional benefits.

Arrangements suggested for medical benefits provide for the preparation by the department- of a list of doctors agreeing to attend and treat insured persons; the right of any qualified medical practitioner to be included in that list; and the right of any insured person to select from the list the doctor by whom he wishes to be attended, subject to that doctor's consent.

The views of the medical men concerned should be ascertained by the department by consultation with an Insurance Act medical committee set up by the British Medical Association, and composed of representatives o£ medical practitioners giving treatment under the scheme.