The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, MAY 7, 1892.

Timaru Herald, Volume LIV, Issue 5408, 7 May 1892, Page 2

The Timaru Herald. SATURDAY, MAY 7, 1892.

It is said that during the approaching J session of Parliament the Government will introduce a measure making provision for pensions and retiring ullow- I ances for the Civil Service. The baßis i of the scheme — tbe source from which ( at least a portion of the funds will come 1 —will be deductions from the salaries , of the officials. No details have yet been furnished, and possibly there may be no truth m the report, or the Go- „ vernment may not be prepared with their scheme till next year. We have . never been able to see the advantage of ' a State pension scheme based on deductions. It is a most extravagant and ' clumsy way of doing the business, as it ' necessarily involves an enormous amount of clerical work, which is altogether < avoided under an ordinary pension i scheme. Under the latter the State, m j itH contract with the Civil Servant i says — " Your remuneration shall con- j aist of two parts (1) a present salary, . and (2) a pension to commence nt the termination of your service." The two parts constitute the quid pro quo for the service, and taken together they , ought m each oase to represent value received by the country. Under a ! syßtem of that kind it is easy for a ' Government to make a yearly estimate of tbe pension demands which will have ' to be provided for within the financial period. A vote is taken and there is an end of the matter. Under the < syitem of deductionsrthe State says to ' the Civil Servant — "Your snlary shall 1 be so much, and out of it we shall i keep back every month a certain ( proportion to be invested for your benefit and returned to you hereafter m i the shape of pension or retiring allow- , ance." It jb m dealing with all those , innumerable deductions that the labour and consequent expense come m. Practically a department is created, but " the State gains not a solitary farthing — \ loses, m fact, the cost of taking account of and manipulating the deductions — , ' and the security to the Civil Servant ' ia no better than under aa ordinary ' pension scheme. Under both systems ' alike tbe Civil Servant has the guaran- ' tee of the State, and that i 8 sufficient, i In connection with the pension system ' may be mentioned the Railway Insur- ' ance Bill, which 1600 of the railway 1 men hove petitioned the Government ; to pn6B, but wuicti, it is said, the I Premier does not regard favourably i We understand that his idea is to include the Riihvay Service m the general scheme for pensions and re tiring allowances. Meanwhile the following summary of the Railway Insur- ! ance Bill may be interesting : — The Bill proposes that tbe adoption of tbe ' benefits shall be voluntary m the case of anyone now m the service, but com pulsory m the case of employees joining ' after it becomes law. It provides that ' from the salary of every permanent ' official who receives 4s 6d per working i day Is per week shall be paid into an ■ insurance fund, which shall be under < the management of the Insurance De- c partment. For every additional 63 m 1 the daily wage another 2d per week i shall be contributed. This worked out 1 amounts to about o per cont. on the' ] earnings. To tbe funds so contributed ] it is proposed to add such grants t as Parliament may from time to time \ make, aud all fines and penalties | levied on employees, the whole being . paid into the consolidated fund. ( The benefits to be derived are: — ( Payment at death to each permanent employee's representatives of a sum" not exceeding one year's pay ; pay- ; merit of allowances to permanent i employees on the termination of their i service ; payment of half-pay allowance i to a permanent employee during sick- 1 ness or accident until he returns to i work, and payment of surrender value, i Any flmployee retiring from the service I voluntarily before the age of 65 when i not incapacitated from service is to >< receive three-fourths of his contributions ( as surrender value — a very much larger „ surrender value than is given by insur- , ance companies. Bmployeea discharged . for criminality or gross misconduct will ; forfeit their surrender values. To i permanent employees of under 20 years' ( service retired before the age of 65 ( years, one quarter's pay will be granted annually as a retiring allowance, and at death the 1 heirs will receive a month's pay for each year of service, provided tbe amount is not less than sic mouths' ' pay or more than twelve months'. If the employee has served 20 years, or is \ over 65 years of age, he will receive J one-third pay as retiring allowance, and ' the same death allowance as m the previous case. The Bill proposes no ' new machinery, tb,B idea being to work i thi: schema through the Government i

nsurance Department. The Bill also imposes that when.any casual employee 3 appointed to the permanent staff, the leriod of. his casual employment shall ount. •