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Full particulars regarding contributors, including those who have retired from the Government; service and are now on the fund, will be found in the statements appended. Retiring and other Alloivances. —Pensions for £9,095 10s. per annum were granted during the year, as follows : For age or length of service, £6,992 7s. per annum to 64 members (61 male and 3 female members) ; for medical unfitness for duty, £1,017 3s. to 18 members (15 male and 3 female members); to widows and children of deceased members, £540 per annum to 30 widows, and £546 per annum to 42 children. The largest retiring-allowance granted during the year to a contributor was £521 145., and the smallest £8 ss. per annum, while the average was £97 13s. 6d. Those officers who retired during the year were entitled to receive the sum of £17,378 17s. 6d. accrued compensation under the Civil Service Act, 1866, had they not become participants in the benefits of the Superannuation Fund. The total amount saved to the Consolidated Fund in this manner since the initiation of the superannuation scheme has been £128,617 4s. Bd., which may fairly be set against the subsidies paid to the fund, amounting to £108,500. Thirty-two retiring-allowances were discontinued by death, and thirteen for other causes— viz., two widows remarried, ten children reached age 14, and one allowance granted to an officer was cancelled on his re-employment. The annual amount payable at the close of the year was £53,384 14s. 10d., as shown in the statement attached. Income. —The total income for the year was £146,990, made up as follows : — £ Members'ordinary contributions ... ... ... ... 107,224 Transferred from other funds ... ... ... ... ... 185 Contributions from Government... ... ... ... ... 23,000 Fines ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 323 Interest ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 16,258 Total income for year ... ... ... ... ... £146,990 Outgo.- -The pensions paid to contributors who have retired, and to the dependants of deceased contributors, during the year amounted to £50,780 12s. 3d.—viz., £48,205 Bs. 7d. to members and £2,575 3s. Bd. to widows and children. Refunds of contributions to contributors who have left the service, including interest £2 17s. Id., amounted to £8,390 17s. 9d., while the refunds under section 42 to personal representatives of deceased contributors amounted to £1,164 12s. sd. One contributor, who was retired on reaching the age-limit, elected to accept; a refund of his contributions under section 38, in lieu of a retiring-allowance. Eefunds of contributions under section 32 (cc), by reason of the death of contributors while in the Public Service, and who were entitled to compensation from the Consolidated Fund, amounted to £1,114 Bs. 6d. during the year. Payments under section 32 (/), balance of compensation and contributions less amount of retiringallowance received, amounted to £2,492 15s. 10d. Six contributors were transferred to other funds in accordance with provisions of section 48 of the Amendment Act of 1908, and their contributions, amounting to £21 6s. 5cL, were accordingly transferred to such other funds. The salaries of the staff (excluding that of the Secretary, paid out of the Consolidated Fund, as provided under section 25 of the Act) and other office expenses were £814 and £145 6s. 3d. respectively. Legal expenses (Crown Law Office opinions) amounted to £3 13s. 6d., and medical fees for reports under section 36 to £64 10s. The travelling-expenses of the elected members of the Board amounted to £49 2s. 6d., and election expenses to £17 4s. The total outgo for the year was £65,169 9s. 10d. From the Ist January, 1912, all receipts and payments have been made through the Post Office Account, with periodical transfers of balances to the Public Trustee's common fund. Under this arrangement the charges hitherto made by the Public Trustee were abolished entirely, and the only expense in this connection is a payment of £50 per annum to the Post Office—a net saving exceeding £700 a year. Net Revenue.—The total for the year was £81,819 19s. lid. Accumulated Funds. —These amounted at the end of the year to £423,556. Balance-sheet. —On the 31st December the total assets of the fund, which include provision for the outstanding accounts, amounted to £433,431. The balance-sheet appended gives full particulars as to the assets and liabilities. The large amount of interest accrued, £12,541 15s. 6d., arises from the new arrangement of placing the moneys in the common fund of the Public Trust Office, as explained in last year's report. On the Ist April in each year the total amount of interest accrued to the end of the financial year is capitalized. General. —An amendment of the law under which the fund is administered was passed during the last session, of Parliament, abolishing the provision for reduction or postponement of allowances to widows and children in cases where compensation is paid under the Workers' Compensation Act for the death of a contributor by accident. The new law came into operation from the date of its passage. Two widows and two children, whose allowances had been deferred previously, became entitled to payment as from that date. The Government Actuary, Morris Fox, Esq., in his report on the actuarial examination of the fund for the first trienniurn, recommended that the Government subsidy be increased from £23,000 to £48,000 per annum during the current trienniurn. By the amending Act mentioned above parliamentary sanction was given to the increased payment as from the Ist January, 1913. The increase in the subsidy was necessitated through officers retiring, with service for which they had paid no contributions, the basis of the scheme being that the Government should pay for these pensions except in so far as they were provided for by the members' contributions. The matter was, however, fully dealt with in the Actuary's report. H. D. Bell, Chairman.