SUPERANNUATION

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3197, 22 September 1917, Page 2

SUPERANNUATION

[FOR CITY CORPORATION STAFF TO COST RATEPAYERS £4000 A YEAR Enlarging on the brief discussion which took place at the meeting of the City Council on Thursday evening on the subject of u superannuation senemo for City Corporation employees, the Mayor (Mr. J. P. Luke, C.M.G.), when interviewed by a Dominion reporter, stated that it was proposed to work tho scheme through tho National .Provident Fund, which provided all the essential machinery for such schemes. The proposal now boforo the council-(to be further considered on Thursday week) provided ;i scherno whereby employees at present up to the age of liO yoati? could become contributors. The reason why it was not advisable or expedient to tako in those employees over 60 years of ago would be recognised when it was stated that tho city's contribution towards the scheme up to GO years was about i'-iOOO, but if those over that age and up to C 5 years were accepted as contributors it wculd mean that tho ratepayers wculd have to pay about -£7500. That was what ho meant when he spoke about loading the scheme. It was quito a good t-cheme if it were given n, th;mcc, but that would be handicapping tho scheme as well as asking t'jo nruch from the ratepayers. So far they had the assurance that 298 employees o.ut'ot about one thousand, would come into the scheme, nnd on that basis the echetne would cost, the employees ,£3694 a year. and the ratepayers JE-10S2. The benefits were a pension at tho age of 65 for males and 60 for females, or upon earlier retirement after 40 years' strvioe and 15 years' membership of the fund. The pension was. to be allowed at the rate of ono-sixtieth of salary for each year of eervice, based on present ealary or as subsequently increased, limited to forty-sixtieths and not to exceed ,£3OO per annum. An important point was that no increase of salary made during tho last three years of servide is to count. In that connection, the Mayor enid that it wns sometimes the ease that a wen's salary was bumped up in. the last ytar of his service simply in order that ho might retire oa a higher ponson .than strictly speaking he was entitled to. They wished to prevent that sort of thing, so tho retiring officer's salary, would be ascertained by striking an average of the salary "he was in receipt of during the final three years of eervke. The contributions to be deducted from salaries were- at the rate fixed by the 1916 Amendment Act, and »vertf as follow :— ■ •'■ ■ Under 30 years of age 4 per cent. Between .30 and !S5 years ... 5 per cent. Between 35 and 40 years ... 6 per cent. Between 40 and 45 years ... 7 per cent. Between 45 and 50' years ..: 8 per cent. Between 50 and C 5 years ... 9 per cf/nt. In the summary to a report by the Town Clerk on tho scheme, Mr. Palmer wrote.:— "Should the council: decide to adopt the proposal 'that no male emplayee over the age of sixty years and no female .employee over the age of fifty-five years shall be accepted for the -superannuation fund, it will mean that of the three hundred and sixty-two employees, .two hundred and ninetj-eight will be permitted to join, the remaining eixty-tour >eing over age. Tho coiyicirs annual contribution to tho fund will therefore bo reduced to .£4082. The employees' will contribute .£3694. Employees not now joining have six months in which they may ask to be included, after which they will be permanently excluded. Special arrangements will bo made .for those now on active service upon their return, to duly, should. they desire to join. All new permanent appointees must join. • "Pensions aro paid at the rate of onosixtioth of annual ealary for pach year, of service. All back service of employees is provided for."