MUNICIPAL SUPERANNUATION.

Timaru Herald, Volume XC, Issue 13316, 19 June 1907, Page 3

MUNICIPAL SUPERANNUATION.

AX ACTUARIAL REPORT. . - The executive committee of the Municipal Association instructed an actuary, Mr George Leslie, to prepare, a set of tables for a- .superannuation, scheme for municipal servants, taking as a, guide the Teachers' superannuation scheme, which fixe.? the annuities at one-sixtieth of the total salary ieceiv-ed during the years of contribution, ' and , compels retirement afc the age of 65. Mr Leslie's calculations show, savs the. •' Evening- Post," that an officer entering the service at the age of fifteen would, by a payment of £1 a. year up tothe age of 65, qualify for a pension of £2B 17s lOd; that if by the age of 25 his salary enabled him to pay another £1 a. year to the fund, this extra payment, continued to the age of 65, would ensure him nn addition to his ,pension of. £l7 Os 3d, or a total of £45 18s Id ; while/ further increases of his contributions by £1- at the ages of 35 and 45 would bring the total of his pension to £55 6s and £59 17s 9d respectively. But ■ the figures which contain the direct answer to the main question are contained in Table VII; -This table shows that, on the basis of the present scale of salaries, an employee joining the fund at the age of fifteen would have to contribute £3 13s 2d per cent, per annum of his salary in order to secure at 65 a pension representing one-sixtieth of the total salary paid to him during his years of contribution to the fund. If he dd not join till he was 32 til's- percentage would be £5 Is, while at 60 it. would be as high as £ll 18s. If provision is to be made for a return of contributions in the event of death before- the age of 65, the percentage of salary paid to the pension fund muiji be increased by a sum ranging from 16s 9:1 in the case of an em-' 1 plov.ee joining at the age of fifteen, increasing to £1 15s 9d where the age is 42. and then again declining as the age at the time of joining increases. Mr Leslie was not instructed to prepare tables of annuities based upon " back service :" but- remarks thatif it should be. decided thai' this benefit shall be paid for by the present staff, who are under sixty-five years of age, out of future salary, then the rates already stated would have'to be loaded to the necessary extent. Even to provide hundred'and-twentieths of salaries for officers and permanent workmen already in the service—which is only hnJf the amount proposed for future contributors, a sum of £40,7:97 would be required." Another point, is the .'mallne>s of the pensions provided on the contributory basis when pa-sons are admitted at advanced ages to the service. " Suc-h scale pensions." says the 'report, '"cannot- be regarded as making any adequate or sufficient provision for such officers ,and the question of restricting the age at entry is deserving of most careful consderation." The - Post" remarks that, while several problems have vtill to be satisfactorily settled, " the Municipal Association may be congratulated on already having a scientific basis for its calculations. To establish a genuinely self-supporting pension scheme in tjie municipal sen-ice, with the necessary Parliamentary fiuthoiity to make it compulsory would be to provide a model t-o which Parliament itself might ultimately give an indefinite extension. There is surely far more hope> along these line; than in*an' old-age pensions scheme which is really elleemosynarv in its character, or a national annuities scheme which, excellent as it is, will, from its voluntary nature, fail to touch the vast majority of those who iiioH- need it." Mr J. T. Martin, secretary to the Municipal Association, has pointed out that— > The scheme does not- provide for the return to employees or their families of any part of their contributions iu the event of secession or withdrawal before the age of 65. The scheme does not provide for a minimum pension, as is done under -the teacher';" scheme. Th > scheme contains no provision for employees of either kind who are already over the age of 65, Mr Leslie estimates that to provide sixtieths of salary and waii.es in these cases would necessitate- the Sliding of the sum of £,7/1 Ml, and that as

a large number of these employees would come at once upon the fund the immediate annual charge would ba about £SCOO and £2500 if one hundred and twintieth onlv were allowed.