Patea & Waverley Press MONDAY, APRIL 10, 1933 A LEAK TO BE STOPPED.

Patea Mail, Volume LIII, 10 April 1933, Page 2

Patea & Waverley Press MONDAY, APRIL 10, 1933 A LEAK TO BE STOPPED.

THE fact that several heads of Departments of the Public Service have lately retired on superannuation and several others, including Mr. T. B. Strong, Director General of Education, 'and Dr, C. J. Reakes, Director General of Agriculture arc due shortly to retire should serve to bring home to the minds of the legislators the urgent need for a complete overhaul of the Public Service superannuation, with a view to ascertaining whether the annual contribution of the Civil Servants to the fund should be increased or the contributions from the Consolidated Fund decreased in the future. Few taxpayers are aware of the drain the Public Service superannuation fund has been on the country in the past. Since 1913 the contributions from the public purse to the fund have been as follows: 1914, £48,000. 1916, £48,000. 1918, £48,000. 1920, £106,000. 1923, £107,500. 1924, £136,000. 1925, £136,000. 1926, £99,269. 1927, £99,444. 1928, £99,810. 1929, £100,007. 1930, £200,844. 1931, £101,361. , 1932, £102,082. The fund, it is interesting to note, is administered by a board of 11 members, comprising a Minister of the Crown, four permanent heads of Departments, and six members elected by contributors, two of these from the Post and Telegraph Department, one from the police force, and three from other Departments. The members hold office for three years, with the right of offering themselves for re-election. The fund consists of contributions from Civil Servants, interest on investments, Government subsidy, finer imposed on public servants, and proceeds of sales of unclaimed property. The maximum pension is not to exceed two-thirds of the salary, and in the ease of entrants to the Civil Service since December 24, 1909, not more than £3OO per annum. A pension of £3l is paid to the widow of a contributor or pensioner during widowhood and £26 for each child under the age of 14. An examination of the fund is made once in every three years by an actuary appointed by the Governor General. The report of the actuary must show the state of the fund and the probable annual sums required to provide the retiring and other allowances falling due within the ensuing three years without trenching upon the moneys paid by existing contributors to be invested for the purpose of providing their allowances when they retire. The Government subsidy to the fund was originally £20,000 per annum, rising in 1910 to £22,500. In 1913 it was increased to £48,000 and later on to far higher amounts, the highest being £200,844 in 1930. The triennial report for the year ending March 31, 1930, showed that on the basis of valuation adopted subsidies paid for 1911 and 1912 were too low by £25,000,

for the throe years ending March 31, 1916, too low by £IB,OOO, for 1917-18 by £38,000, for the three years 1920-22 by £39,000, for 1923 by £86,000, for the year 1925 by £.104,000, and for each of the next two years by £154,000, for the following two years too low by £199,000, and for 1929-30 too low by £99,000, making a total shortage to March 31, 1930, of £1,301,000, oi' Avith accumulations at 44 per cent, to £1,776,357. In ylcav of the fact that the State has seen fit by legislation to break contracts entered into between mortgagors and mortgagees and with those who have invested their money in Government securities, it Avould not be out of place in view of the state of the country’s finances if the Government were to pass legislation bringing all the pensioners down to the level of those joining the Civil Service after December 24, 1909, viz., £3OO per annum, Avhich should be ample for any person to live comfortably on, particularly those Avho have been drawing four figure salaries annually for a large number of years. A country with a population of only a million and a-half and Avith heavy obligations in the Avay of loan interest cannot afford to pay any of its employees pensions running into four figures. The fact that it has been found necessary to increase the taxpayers’ animal contribution, to the superannuation fund from £22,500 a few years ago to as much as £200,844 in 1930 should serve to show the authorities that here is a very serious leak that could very well be stopped. A country that finds it necessary to take one shilling out of every twenty earned by the apprentice, typiste, and hospital nurse has no right to give £200,000 to a superannuation fund that should he self Neither has a country with finances so straightened that all kinds of extra taxation have to be imposed, any right to bestow on highly paid officials pensions running into four figures. These are some of the many leaks tha J should be stopped without delay.