OLD AGE PENSIONS IN GERMANY.

Evening Star, Issue 10339, 12 June 1897, Page 1 (Supplement)

OLD AGE PENSIONS IN GERMANY.

A Foreign Office paper just issued contains a report on the insurance in Germany against accidents and in case of old age and infirmity. The accident busness is in the hands of trade associations. Government insurance establishments, and insurance establishments of 13 building trade associations. The 112 trade associations are divided into 64 industrial and 48 agricultural, and the number of persons insured in 1895 was 17,698.033, sub-divided thus: Industry, 5,409,218 ; agriculture, 12,289,415. Fishermen, domestic Servants, and all persons aiming on small industries alone, or employing a few apprentices, are excluded from the operation of the Act. The Government insurance establishments insure Government employes in the naval, military, postal, railway, transport, forest, and building services to the number of G90.835. The year 1895 was the first since the institution of the new system of old age and infirmity insurance. The total sums paid were £419,000 to the infirm and £781,500 on account of old age. The total expenditure was about £1,800,000. The receipts from subscriptions from laborers, rent, etc. amounted to £5,337,000. The accumulated fund was thus raised to £19,038,000. The expenses of administration were about 5 pnr cent, of the total receipts. The increase in periodical subscriptions shows how popular the system is becoming. The average weekly subscriptions per person subscribing amounted to about 211. The average old age pension was £3~J3i per annum, and of infirmity pension £3 3s, without counting the subsidy from the State of £2 10s. The sum above mentioned, £19,038,000, bore interest in 1895 at the rite ef 3.58 per cent, against 3.67 per cent, in 1891. The disbursements of the Empire under the Aot of 1889 were in 1895-9G £846,059, and the amount allowed in the Budget was £765,625. The amount allowed in the estimates for 1897-98 is £1,065,000. In July, 1896, the number of pensions was 341,973. According to the estimates of 1897-98 the number of pensions which lapse is about 11 per cent, of the total number, inclusive of the new pensions granted in the year, the number of which is estimated at about 84,000.