The Dominion WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1920. THRIFT MADE EASY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 302, 15 September 1920, Page 6

The Dominion WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 1920. THRIFT MADE EASY

9 One of the best way a to promote tho sense, of; security- which acts as . a powerful antidote to social and 1 industrial unrest is. to: simplify the ' task of those who desire to make i adequate- provision for their old age. From this standpoint tho ■ National Provident Fund is. entitl-1 ed to much more general attention than it has received thus far eithor from possible contributors or from those who are intent on bettering existing social conditions. The report on the- fund for the calendar year 1919, which was presented to , Parliamont yesterday* shows that during that year- the number of ' 1 contributors increased from 13,410 to 16,154—an increase of approximately twenty per cent. This is a much better rate of progress- than has been lfegistered on' an average - since the fund was, established nine • years ago, 'but very much more 1 rapid progress would be assured if the benefits of membership were recognised as widely as -they ought to be. As a matter- of .fact the fund as it'stands-offers a ready basis for such a development of national . thrift as would make ntecessitous i old age thp. rare-exception in this ■ country. The-terms of contribution | are easy, and tho benefits offered are liberal. The amount paid in contributions is subsidised by the , State to the extent of twenty-five per cent., and this, of cours", considerably enlarges tho scale of benefits. It is nnen to contributors to qualify at the 1 age of sixty for a pension ranging- from 10s. to £2 per wcek._ It is : an important poi-< that receipt of : those pensions v ' :k not affect any right under the Old Age Pension Act. That is to say, contributors who qualify even -or tho maximum pension unde" the National Provident Fund, and a2'o not disqualified by tho receipt of further- income from some other source, will be entitled also to the full amount of the eld age pension —at present 15s. per week. As tl7e law was amended last year, membership is open to all New Zealanders whose annual income during: the three preceding years has not exceeded £300. The fund in fact is the groundwork- of a system of national superannuation, generously subsidised, and as the benefits it offers come to be realised and understood, the number of contributors no doubt will rapidly multiply. These benefits are not confined to superannuation. They include pen, sion payments (after five years of contribution) in_ the invent of a contributor boing incapacitated, and similar payments to his wife and children in tho event of his death. There is ako a "baby bonus" of £6. The advantages of joining the National Provident Fund so evidently outweigh the light sacrifico entailed that it is difficult to account for the comparatively small membership thus far attained. Th'e circumstanccs distinctly sugcrn=t that there is great seopo for inculcating and awakening a reasonable spirit of thrift throughout the population. It is noteworthy in this connection that of those who are contributors to the fund a very largo proportion are qualifying only for the minimum pension of 10s. per week. This no doubt meant; that thf» Inmiranoo ana other benefits of

the fund are widely appreciated, but it manifestly means also that tens of thousands of New Zealanders are 'foolishly neglecting the opportunity of making provision. under easy conditions for then- latter years—such an opportunity as people in most other countries havo good reason to regard with envy. It is perhaps open to the Government in some respects to extend the existing scope of the fund. For instance, although the income J limit within which contributors are eligible was increased last year from £250 to £300, a further increase may be justified in existing circnmstances. The benefits of this fine system of State-aided thrift ought to be open to_ all . whose possible margin of saving is' comparatively narrow, and in tho ruling conditions of high wages and prices many people with ail annual income of more than £300 arc included in this category. Definite benefits to the Stato as well as to individuals would result if tho Provident Fund became truly national in fact as well as in name. At present, leaving war pensions out of account, some 24,000 persons (more than a third of the aggregate of females of 60 and over and males of 65 and over) are in receipt of old-age and other statutory pensions. At the present rate of pro-. gress it will be a very long time before the number of people supertinjytated under the National Provident Fund remotely approaches these figures. Only reasonable thrift and foresight are needed, however, to transform this prospect and make membership of the National Provident Fund popular and well-nigh universal with those who are not in a position to provide stiH more comfortably for their declining years.