TEACHERS’ SUPERANNUATION

Northern Advocate, 13 June 1931, Page 5

TEACHERS’ SUPERANNUATION

FUND SADLY DEPLETED. CAPITAL DWINDLING. INVESTIGATIONS TO EE MADE. (Special to “Northern Advocate.”) AUCKLAND, This Day. At a meeting of the Auckland members of the New Zealand Federation of Teachers last evening, the .serious position of the Teachers ’ Superannuation Fund was referred to by Air F, A, Garry, a member of the Teachers’ Superannuation Board.

“At the last meeting of the board an alarming statement was submitted by the secretary,” said Mr Garry. “For the first time iu the history of the fund the capital lias boon eaten into to meet commitments. The stato of tho fund is going from bad to worse If the present position continues, in about. 15 years when the peak of payments is reached, there will be no more capital and tho fund will practically cease to exist.” Mr Garry said tho fund had suffered in more than one way. When it was inaugurated in I9OC, the Government accepted liability for tho payment of tho retiring allowance to those, in, the service before that date without tho payment of contributions on their part. During the currency of the fund, about 25 years, this liability had amounted to about £750,000, while tho amount paid into the fund by successive Governments had been less than that amount. This meant that the Government had not paid anything towards the retiring allowances of the present contributors, who had had to undertake the liability accepted by the government when the fund was opened. The fund had .suffered further by the fact that a considerable number oc contributors received relatively much more than others, Mr > 6arry said. It was felt that the time had* arrived when teachers as a whole should know the position of the fund and effective measures should be taken to make tho fund financially sound. It was decided to set up a committee to investigate the position of the fund and to report to the meeting later.