H.—26

Under section 27 of the Finance Act, 1925, the statutory allowances to widows and children were increased from £18 to £31 per annum, and from ss. per week to 10s. per week respectively, involving an increase in the total annual expenditure of £13,403 per annum. The additional expenditure on this account is recovered from the Consolidated Fund. Under section 29 of the Finance Act, 1925, which provides for the inclusion of the value of board and lodging in salary for superannuation purposes, existing allowances, other than to widows and children, were increased by £3,757 15s. 2d. per annum. Those officers who retired during the year and who possessed compensation rights under the Civil Service Act, 1866, would have been entitled to receive the sum of £29,086, the amount of compensation accrued to the date when they joined the Superannuation Fund had they not become participants in the benefits of the fund. The total amount of such compensation for which the fund became liable since the initiation of the scheme is £543,058. To this amount must be added accretions to the date of retirement, approximately £130,000, for which the Consolidated Fund would otherwise have been liable, and the whole may be fairly set against the total subsidies paid to the fund during the past eighteen years, amounting to £1,204,500. Eighty-three retiring-allowances were discontinued by death, and eighty-seven for other causes—viz., eleven widows remarried, and seventy-four children reached the age of fourteen. The annual amount payable at the close of the year was £314,213 18s. Bd., as shown in the statement attached. Income.— The total income for the year was made up as follows : — £ Members' ordinary contributions ... ... ... .. 257,378 Subsidy, Cook and Samoa Administration ... ... ..." 3,167 Contributions from Government ... ... ... ... 99,269 Fines, &c. ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 277 Interest ... ... ... ... ... ... ... 136,798 Total income for year ... ... ... ...£496,889 Outgo.— The pensions paid during the year to contributors who have retired and to dependants of deceased contributors amounted to £316,399 19s.—viz., £286,684 3s. Bd. to members, and £29,715 15s. 4d. to widows and children. Refunds of contributions to contributors who have left the service amounted to £41,527 os. 3d., while the refunds under section 42 to personal representatives of deceased contributors and annuitants amounted to £10,291 13s. sd. Two contributors who were retired elected to accept a refund of their contributions under section 38, amounting to £670 7s. 6d., in lieu of retiring-allowances. Refunds under section 32 amounted to £873 Bs. Bd. Nine contributors were transferred to other funds in accordance with the provisions of section 48 of the Amendment Act of 1908, and their contributions, amounting to £185 7s. 6d., were accordingly transferred to such other funds. Tne salaries of the staff' and other office expenses were £2,668 4s. 6d. and £875 lis. lOd. respectively. The Public Trustee's commission on interest collected amounted to £3,324 lis. 9d. Medical fees for reports under section 36 amounted to £51 9s. The total outgo for the year was £376,867 13s. sd. Accumulated Funis.—These amounted at the end of the year to £2,317,398 18s. sd. Balance-sheet. —On the 31st March the total assets of the fund, which include provision for the outstanding accounts, amounted to £2,392,260 7s. lid. The balance-sheet appended gives full particulars as to the liabilities and assets. Investment, of the Fund.—The total investments of the fund at each rate of interest were as follows : — Inscribed stock:— £ £ 5 per cent. ... ... ... ... ... 5,506 5J per cent. ... ... ... ... 164,000 5J per cent. ... ... ... ... 146,350 6 percent. ... ... ... ... ... 40,000 Debenture securities :— 4^-per cent. ... ... ... ... 15,000 5 per cent. ... ... ... ... ... 34,763 5J per cent. ... .. ... . 15,423 6 per cent. ... ... ... ... ... 180,575 per cent. ... ... ... ... 5,000 606,617 Mortgage securities 5 per cent. ... ... ... ... ... 2,864 per cent. ... ... ... ... 39,306 5J per cent. ... ... ... ... 151,725 6 per cent. ... ... ... ... ... 1,222,966 per cent. ... ... ... ... 293,831 1,710,692 Total ... ... ... ... £2,317,309 The above total includes £16,756 invested on Stipendiary Magistrates' account. The average rate of interest earned for the financial year on the mean funds was £6 Is. sd. per cent., as compared with £5 18s. 7d. per cent, for the previous year.

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