ANOMALIES REMOVED

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIII, Issue 73, 8 March 1933, Page 7

ANOMALIES REMOVED

SUPERANNUATION FUNDS. RIGHTS OF CONTRIBUTORS. Wellington, March 8. Several clauses in the Finance Bill (No. 4), which was introduced in the House of Representatives yesterday, deal with the rights fo contributors to the State superannuation funds, the principal object of the amendments made to existing legislation being to remove anomalies which have been discovered. One clause gives Public Servants the right to elect to contribute to the funds on the basis of the higher salary where reductions in pay have been made under the National Expenditure Adjustment Act. It was explained by the Minister of Finance, the Hon. J. G. Coates, that under that legislation any contributor to a Government superannuation fund had the right on or before September 30, 1932, to elect to continue to contribute to such superannuation fund as if his salary had not been reduced by that Act. It had been ascertained that certain officers who elected to contribute on the higher amount when the salary cut was imposed in 1931 were of opinion that no further election by them was required, and a s a result they had taken no action. It was proposed in this Bill, therefore, to extend the time in which such an election might be made to the end of next May. REFUNDS OF CONTRIBUTIONS. Another clause deals with the question of refund of contributions to the superannuation funds. Mr Coates said certain difficulties had arisen in the administration of the legislation dealing with moneys overpaid by contributors to the various superannuation funds where such contributors had not elected to continue their contributions on the higher basis after reductions in salaries were effected. The retiring allowance had been based on the average salary for the past three years, giving an average salary higher than that on which such contributor had retired and on which his contributions had been adjusted. The clause made it clear that the credit to which the contributor was entitled should be the difference in the rate on the basis of the salary on which the contributor’s retiring allowance was based and the higher salary from which he had been reduced. RENTAL VALUES OF HOUSES. Explaining a further clause, the Minister said that the Public Service Superannuation Act permitted a contributor to a fund who was provided with the use of a house to have the rental value of such house treated as salary for superannuation purposes. Some officers through ignorance omitted to notify within the stipulated time and the present clause was intended to give them an additional opportunity of taking advantage of the previous legislation. Under another clause in the Bill, it is made clear that absence from New Zealand on account of service in the naval, military, or air forces, shall not disqualify a person from receiving the old age pension.