NATIONAL SUPERANNUATION.

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 128, 16 June 1937, Page 4

NATIONAL SUPERANNUATION.

Our Minister of Pensions, the Hon. W. E. Parpy, last night gave at Auckland some statement as to the progress that is being made with the formulation of national superannuation and health insurance schemes for the Dominion. Naturally, at this stage, he is able to speak only very broadly and all those who are anxious to see the schemes established on fe sound footing will recognise the need for proceeding with the utmost deliberation and caution. As to this we have before us an entirely pertinent warning in the whoily unsatisfactory condition into which a very much smaller undertaking of a like S#nd, the Civil Service Superannuation, has f allen. That fund was hastily instituted by a Liberal Government that failed to pay sufficient heed to the advice of the expert actuaries and thought only of generous figures that would xnake for popularity; The result has been that the fund has long been practically bankrupt and that heavy demands have had to be made on the taxpayers to enable it to meet even the matured claims upon it. With this in mind, it can readily be understood what care will require to be exercised in working out schemes for the whole population of the Dominion. It is, however, very greatly ip the present Government's favour that it has by way of guidance kindred plans that have been in course of development in the Old Gountry over a period of some thirty years and are now operating with almost complete satisfaction. It has also had the benefit of consulting personaiUy two of the experts who are engaged in the supervision and administration of the British schemes. Beyond this. too, is the advantage of consultation with the Commonwealth Government, which is also busy upon schemes oi a like character. As with sc many other schemes for social betterment, there is no great difficulty in enunciating the general prinaiples upon which they should be based, It is quite a different thing. however, when we come to have to work them out in detasil, with due regard to existing and pfospective conditions and to what may be practicable as well as desirable. As Mr Parry points out, there are in the present ease schemes of semi-public and private nature that have , to be considered iand made to fit in with the national plan, friendly societies being the outstanding instance. However, with regard to these latter in Great Britain we are told that a perfectly satisfactory plan of eo-operation has been evolved, j so that here also our Government should have precedent to j guide it The outstanding feature of all these schemes is. of course, that they are contributory, that only those derive benefit fi-om them who have paid something into the funds. In this way they lose all suggestion of public charity in the general acceptation of the term, and so help materially to preserve the spirit of independence which it is so essential to foster. The need for this, even in this young country, is made ap- - parent when we have a roll of something like 55,000 oldage pensioners for whom annual provision has to be made by the general body -of taxpayers to a total amount of well over £3-million. This amount, too, is increasing with every yea'r, havjng, of course, made a big jump upwards since the present Government came into office. Up to the end of last yeair the taxpayers had h,ad to find an aggregate of some £27-million for payment of oldiage pensions alone. It can thus be seen that the time is entirely ripe for instituting a contributory seheme of superannuation. Mr. Parry had apparently nothing to say just now with regard to a scheme of insurance against unemployment, . probably because it is outside his province. The last few years have, however, shown this to be just as urgently, if not indeed much more urgently, wanted. This is a subject fresh enough in all minds not to require emphasis beyond noting that for the last financial year the taxpayers were called upon to find some £4-million for the Government's Employment Fund — certainly a rather euphemistic term for a fund of which so large a proportion goes to provide sustenance witliout work. jHere again there is a* proved British example to follow. Obviously the time for seffing such schemes on foot is when prosperity reigns, and Ministers themselves vow there has never been such a prosperous time as the present.