FRIENDLY SOCIETIES.

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume VI, Issue 274, 4 November 1916, Page 2

FRIENDLY SOCIETIES.

ADDRESS BY THE REGISTRAR. AN INTERESTING PROPOSAL. 1 a.-t evening the Registtnr of Fiiendly Societies (Mi R. E. Haves) addressed a b>rgft meeting of member of societies al Napier. Ln the eoutse of* his addiess Mr. Have*, said 1 -- The annuities offeied to friendly societies under this Act airthe same as in the original scheme, i.e., payable at age sixty at the nite of 10 -. 2(1/-, 3/- and K - per week. Any member whose income is less than £250 per annum, and who is under foitx fixe reus of age may become a contributor. (These conditions are somewhat modified for a vear. as I wit! explain later). It is quite optional on the part of anv memlx i whi th< i h< becomi i con tributor ur not. and. further, his u nuitc u idt i this Act does not at ftct his ught to the old age pension

IHI CONTRIBT PION RATE 'Now. the contribution rate winch is specified in the sehc dub t > this Act is xeic diftiicnt to tiie >n< st out in the mam Act. In f ict fo the most popular annuity, i.e.. JO.'- a week, th r i ite oiinted is exactlc hilt the lite quoted in the nnm \< i It has to be remembered that the National Pioxidcnt lurid it now stands on the fet trite Look is sound actuanallv. accoratne to the Actual xsll pm t If the i< foil, we offei a him fit out of th it fund at hall tilt iitcs xcc hus| s( ( antic the monev conies from. “lhe best illustration 1 can give of th fun men oi the tiansaction will lit to take tlu cipitiliscl x line of an a nnul tv at age sixtv. The value oi th it allox ante it ige sjxty is i fO6 th it is to six it xou desne to ]>uxhas n mnuitx it Hmt igf you will reouire to place that amount down in casn. lheretore the National I uncl ounectfr fine tioin some source or otner tnat amount when it be = ins to pi\ out it age six Nov. let us tike i iuendlx socictx mem ber aged 21 who joins the fund. He is required under the Act to pay bd a week. The payment ot that sum until he reaches the age ot sixty, accumulated at compound interest, amounts to ctlni odd. All the time he has been paying that the State has been paying 50 per cent, of it into account, that is, 3d per week. This amount accumulated at compound interest comes to £57 odd. AA’e have therefore from these two sources £172 towards the £306. When the member reaches age sixty the Act proposes that the sick fund of the lodge' he belongs to shall transfer to the -National Provident Fund the value of this future sickness at rates to be decided in the regulations. These rates have been fixed at £1 first six months, 10/second six months, and 5/- after twelve months —rates xvhich represent xvhat’most societies pay. The actuarial valuation of those allowances is £55 12/-. On the transfer of that amount to the National Provident Fund the State pays in also 50 per cent,, i.e., £27 odd. From these four sources now xve have obtained £256. The remaining £5O comes from what is called the benefit of survivorship, and means the moneys left in the fund from subsidies paid in on account of members -who lapse or withdraw or die and the interest on contributions which may be draxvn by persons leaxungi etc. A SUBSTANTIAL DIFFERENCE. “The ordinary sick and funeral fund contributions will be payable by the members after age sixty to the end of his membership in the society. “The Actuary has certified that the transfer of this sum of £55 12/- is actuarially safe for friendly societies to make without loss ; and there can be no doubt of this fact, that for a certain payment fixed by the actuary the lodges get rid of a very uncertain liability that in many cases runs into hundreds of pounds. The societies by assisting in this scheme are enabling their members on the payment of a small additional contribution to obtain a benefit worth £306 to take the place of a benefit worth £55 12/-. This comparison gives a fair indication of the value as between sick pay and a pension for members over sixty. “The Act provides as a concession to.present members of friendly societies that the income restriction as to the £250 shall not operate during 1917, and also that the age at ■which present members may join is raised to age 55 on payment according to the taHe provided for in the regulations. This special concession is open to all persons who join societies before January Ist next, and xvill be obtainable for txvelve months thereafter only. The tables of contributions under the Act and the conditions generally can apply only to members of friendly societies wdiose sickness benefits are at least of the value of the sums I have mentioned. In any lodges where members have a lower sickness benefit, special provision will have to be made in the rules to meet such cases.

MATERNITY ALLOWANCE

“The second benefit payable under the Act is a maternity allowance of £4 payable on the birth of a child to the wife of a member of a friendly society provided the income of the member and his wife during the twelve months preceding the birth has not exceeded £2OO, and that the member has been at the time of the birth 52 weeks in his society and paid that number of contributions. The allowance is payable to the mother of the child, it differs somewhat in its terms from the benefit paid under the main Act, where the allowance is subject to reduction if the medical and other expenses do not reach the sum. In the ease of friendly societies, however, in every case the full £4 in cash will be payable. It will be necessary for the mother of the child to give the necessary authority for the money to be claimed on her behalf. A medical attendant or midwife must be in attendance at each birth, and it must be so certified on the claim form.

N<i membet will bi? luti'Ud Ibr benefit if he has claimed uhdt f main Act for tlic name birth ft eonti ibutor to the fund, and he cannot claim it from two societies. A special system ot lennttanccu anil postages for the carrxmg out <4 the scheme will be established for the benefit of secic.ties. -As already mentio.ied, it is qui’r optional on the part of members whether they take up tin Hiliiintv and the matermt) allowance is paj able to all members iriesptctne of their being annuitants or not. “This concludes the summary ot the Act and its provisions. The scheme from an annuity standpoint offers to members of friendlv societies a very advantageous method of securing for themselves an independent provision m old age, and this has only been made possible by the liberal subsidies provided under the Acfl” There xvas an interesting discus sion at the conclusion of Mr. Haxes address and a number of quest io is wire answered. At the conclusion of the meeting a hearty vote of thanks w is accorded to Mr. Hayes.