OLD AGE PENSIONS.

Lyttelton Times, Volume XCIII, Issue 10594, 1 March 1895, Page 6

OLD AGE PENSIONS.

A PROPOSAL. The following scheme to provide pensions for the aged has been adopted by the Progressive Liberal Association, on the recommendation of its committee; — In reporting upon the question of old age pensions, your committee considers the matter one of vast importance to the community. In these days of cut-throat competition it has become necessary to devise some scheme whereby those who have borne the heat and burden of the day during their time of manhood and energy, should not, after being thrust out of the ranks of labour by younger and more active competitors, be left dependent upon charity. For the mass of the workers it is simply impossible to set apart from their own savings the means required to secure support in old age. Here and there one does succeed in doing so, but where one succeeds many fail. Sickness or want of employment generally absorb the savings of the most frugal. Your committee considers that an old age pension scheme will be the greatest step yet taken in practical socialism, insomuch aa it will prevent poverty on the part of those above a certain age. This will relieve many a hard-working man or woman from that grim spectre which often haunts them, the dread of being unprovided for in old age; or what is only one degree better, the dread of being dependent upon relatives for support. Tour committee first considered what amount would be required to secure a moderately comfortable existence to the aged without at the same time drawing too heavily upon the resources of the country. After considerable discussion, your committee decided that twelve (12s) shillings a week in the case of men or woman, either unmarried or where their wives or husbands were under the pension age, or twenty shillings in the case of married couples whore both were of pension age, was the lowest scale at which an old-age pension could be fixed so aa to secure a reasonable amount of comfort to those dependent upon it. With regard to the age at which the pension should commence, your committee recommend that the age of sixty-five be taken in the first instance, with a fixed intention , that the pension age should ultimately be fixed at' sixty years of age. Iu all cases the recipient of the pension should have resided ia the colony for twenty years before being entitled to his or her pension. This would prevent the colony being flooded with elderly people, whose bast years and energies had been expended iu other countries. Subject to these stipulations as to age and residence, your committee considers the pension should be payable to all, irrespective of their position or income. With regard to the mode of raising the funds required, your committee, after carefully considering the systems proposed or adopted in other countries, ia distinctly of opinion that no system of direct payment by the individual, whether optional or compulsory, will be practicable, as the difficulty of collection, the clerical staff required to keep the accounts and the migratory : character of the people, combined with- the difficulty and often impossibility‘of collcciing the direct payment in times’of 'sickness, or. want of employment would ’ render any such system unworkable. Your committee agrees that the only practicable mode of working an old-age pension scheme is by a payment out of the consolidated revenue of the colony, in the same way as the educational system is maintained. Of course, to maintain the system it will be necessary to supplement the consolidated revenue to a considerable extent.

The number of persons in. the colony over sixty years of age is about 27,000; those over sixty-five 15,000. Your committee considers that the stipulation for twenty years’ residence would reduce these numbers by one-fourth in, the first case and by one-fifth in the- last case. This would give a total of 20,250 over sixty and 12,000 over sixty-five. In order to provide the' pensions proposed payable to all parsons over sixty years of age a sum of per annum would be required, or if the pension commenced at sixty-five a sum of £3'20,000. These amounts appear large, but , the importance of the result fuliy warrants your committee recommending the expenditure, which is really not so great an additional outlay as it seems. At least £50,000 a year would be saved from the. hospital and charitable aid expenditure, and thera would be a very considerable decrease of the amount raised privately for the support and assistance of our aged poor. The funds to supplement the consolidated revenue should, in the opinion of your committee, bo derived from an increase in the income taxation and the death duties.' At the present time the income tax is 6d in the £ on all incomes of over £3OO, with a deduction of £3OO from all incomes over that amount; and -a further deduction not esceeding,£so for life assurance premiums. Your committed considers that in supplementing the revenue for the purpose of an old age pension,scheme it would be just to largely reduce the income at which taxation should commence. ■ ;

It is considered that £IOO per annum is the smallest sum .which will enable a man to support himself and; family in a reasonable aniount of comfort, and your committee recommends that all incomes of over that amount should contribute to the extra funds required for the, old age pension. The scale of taxation should, however, be graduated so .aa mob to press unduly on those least able to bear it. The following scale of income tax is recommended Under £IOO ... ... Free ; zSIOO to £l5O ... Id Over £l5O to £2OO J....v2d Over £2OO to £3OO ' ...: , ; 3d. . Over £3OO to £SOO ... : > fid ■ Over £SOO to £IOOO ... . - 9A; Over £IOOO so £ISOO ... Is Od Over £ISOO to £2500 ... Is 6d Over £2500 2s Od The death duties at present collected are as follow: On estates not exceeding £IOO ... No duty £IOO to £IOOO ... 3-J- per cent £IOOO to £SOOO ... 'S-J per cent £SOOO to £20,000 ... 7 per cent Above £20,000 ... 10 percent

with 3 per cent added in case of legatees being strangers in blood, excepting adopted children. Your committee is strongly of opinion that these duties might be considerably increased, especially in the case of the larger estates. In moat cases these large properties have been obtained in consequence of undue, and in many cases unjust, facilities given to holders of land whereby they have been enabled to accumulate wealth which, under a more equitable system of laud tenure, would have been distributed amongst the community ; or the wealth has been accumulated by the exploitation of labour, and it is only right in either case that on the wealth passing into other hands a considerable tax should be levied for the benefit of the community. You committee recommends that the death duties should be on the following scale.Under £IOO Free ,£IOO to £SOO ... 2£ per cent £SOO to £IOOO ... 3 per cent £IOOO to £2OOO ... 4 percent £2OOO to £3OOO ... 6 per cent £3OOO to £4OOO ... 6 per cent £4OOO to £SOOO ... 7 per cent £SOOO to £7500 ... 8 par cent £7500 to £IO,OOO ... 9 per cent to £15,000... 10 per cent £15,000 to £20,000... 12-J per cent £20,000 to £30,000... 15 par cent 0v0r,£30,000 ... 20 per cent Your committee does not recommend that any separate account should be kept of the increased revenue derived from this taxation, with the idea of forming a pension fund, but that the revenue should go into the Consolidated Fund and be withdrawn from that fund in the same way as the education expenditure. In conclusion, your committee trusts tb»V> an effort, will be made to arouse public opinion on ttis important question.. The struggle for existence is daily becoming more intense, and all feelings of humanity prompt us to try to place our aged people (beyond the dread and danger of poverty.