SUPERANNUATION ANOMALIES OR WORSE

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21773, 12 October 1932, Page 8

SUPERANNUATION ANOMALIES OR WORSE

TO THE EDITOR. Sir, —I wish to point out two anomalies in the Acts that ought to be remedied immediately. The first is that the retiring allowance is based on the last three years’ salary or wages. Take two apprentices joining the railways at the same time and retiring after 40 years’ service. A goes through his apprenticeship and turns out to be a good workman, but is lacking in some qualification for leadership, and continues with some slight promotion till his term finishes. Starting with a 5 per cent, deduction for superannuation during his apprenticeship, he contributes £22 3s to the Superannuation Fund. then in the next 35 years on an average wage ot £4 10s a week he contributes £431 17s to the fund, and retires on forty-sixtieths of Ins wages, receiving £156 per year. B, the other apprentice, serves his time of apprenticeship at similar rates, but shortly afterwards obtains promotion and averages £5 10s per week for five years, then £6 10s, £8 15s, £lO, £ll, and £l2 10s tor the remaining five-year periods, and retires on forty-sixtieths of the last-men-tioned salary, with a pension ot £4OO per year, having contributed £702 15s. If A gets £l5O per annum for the £431 contributed by him, B should get £286 4s, not £4OO. Again, if A is absent through sickness he gets no wages, but when he is back at work has to contribute on the usual scale for the time he lost. B gets three months’ sick leave on his usual pay. I say that each should

draw in proportion to the amount contributed, as in a savings bank account. The limit of £3OO should also be deleted for the following reasons: —Two officers, C and D, reach this limit at, say, 35 years’ service at £450 per year. C gets no more promotion, and continues to pay on the same scale. D receives a couple of good increases in salary and consequently contributes £l5O more than U. Why should he contribute more and get the same as C? If the fund is to be kept solvent the Government should pay .the subsidy required after each valuation of the fund, or if no subsidy is to be paid increase the contributions as required by actuarial examination, as is done in friendly societies.—l am, etc., M. M.