SUPERANNUATION PLAN

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 88, 14 April 1938, Page 9

SUPERANNUATION PLAN

COST OF THE SCHEME ACTUARY SUBMITS REPORT NEW LIABILITY ON CONSOLIDATED FUND [ Per Press Association. ] WELLINGTON, April 13. The report of an actuary, Mr G. H. Maddex, was submitted to-day to the Parliamentary Committee on National Health and Superannuation. Concluding his report, Mr Maddex said that on the assumption of a national income of £150,000,000 the yield from the social security contributions would be £7,500,000 and the registration levy of £1 on men over the age of 20 would yield a further £500,000. With an estimated expenditure on the health and superannuation services of £17,850,000 for 1939-40 the position would be; — (a) Income from contribution of a shilling in the pound on wages and other income £7,500,000 (b) Income from registration levy £500,000 (c) Subsidy from the Consolidated Fund ... £9,850,000 Total sum required £17,850,000 The foregoing statement shows that the subsidy required from the Consolidated Fund in the first full year under the new proposals to be £9,850,000. If the existing pensions law had continued in operation unchanged it is estimated that the total cost of pensions (including administration) would increase from the present figure of about £6,500,000 to £7,250,000 for the year 1939-40. Thus the additional amount of new expenditure to be met from the Consolidated Fund in that year is about £2,500,000; that is, about one-fourth of the subsidy of £9,850,000 from the Consolidated Fund will represent a ned liability on that fund.

Summary Estimated.

The report contained a statement summarising the estimated expenditure for 1939-40 on a full year’s basis under the Government s proposals, compared with the estimated expenditure if no change was made in the existing law. The following figures give details of the estimated expenditure under the Government’s proposals, the estimated expenditure if existing and unchanged being given in parentheses: Superannuation benefits, £6,200,000 (£3,900,000); widowed mothers, £630,000 (£500,000); widows, £450,000 (nil); orphans, £50,000 (nil), family allowances, £700,000 (£80,000); invalidity pensions, £1,050,000 (£750,000); war pensions, £1,600,000 (same), war veterans’ allowances, £190,000 (£150,000); miners’ pensions, £105,000 (£90,000); sundry pensions, £25,000 (same)—total for the above, £ll,000,000 (£7,095,000). Sickness benefit say, £10,000,000 (nil); partial disability say, £500,000 (nil); sustenance, say, £1,500,000 (same)—total for sickness and other benefits, £3,000,000 (£1,500,000).

General practitioner service, £1,210,000 (nil); hospital and other treatment, £940,000 (nil); medicinces and appliances, £560,000 (nil); maternity service, £290,000 (nil) —total for health services, £3,000,000 (nil).

The total expenditure on all benefits would be £17,000,000 (£8,595,000); expenses of administration (including medical charges for war pensioners, etc., under the existing law), £850,000 (£400,000). The grand total of

expenditure would be £17,850,000 (£B,995,000). Thus the new proposals ar;, estimated to involve an additional expenditure of some £8,508,000 in the first full year.