DUTCH OLD AGE PENSION BILL.

Manawatu Herald, Volume XXXIV, Issue 1004, 8 February 1912, Page 4

DUTCH OLD AGE PENSION BILL.

Last May a Bill was introduced into the Dutch Parliament for Invalidity and Old Age Pensions. This Bill is of remarkable interest for its completeness and technical character. We reproduce some details from the last Bulletin of Social and Economic Intelligence, published by the International Institute of Agriculture. The Dutch Bill proposes the compulsory insurance of all those who have been employed in paid labour for 16 years. For the purposes of insurance, the workmen are divided into 5 classes, according as their annual wages amount to 240, 400, 600, 900 florins (equal to 500, 830, 1250 and 1875 francs) or more. The premium, to be paid every week, is fixed according to the class of the workmen at 0.20, 0.24, 0.82, 0.40 or 0.48 florins (0.42, 0.50, 0.67, 0.53, 1.00 fr.). Hall is paid by the workmen and half by the employer. The workman’s half may be paid by the employer out of his wage. In case of disablement the workman always has right to pension, even if the disablement is only temporary, but iu any case not lasting less than six mouths. Old age pensions are due to all those who have completed 20 years and have paid 1248 weekly premiums.

The pensions are calculated on the basis of the total amount of premiums paid by the insured multiplied by 325 and divided by the number ot weeks from the day the workman began insuring ; to the result 10 per cent, ot the total amount of premiums paid is added. The provisions for orphans' pensions are also worthy ot note. These can be claimed by children of less than 13 years at the death of an insured parent (father or widowed mother), with claim to pension. While imposing the above system of compulsory insurance, the bill allows of voluntary insurance with the State Insurance Bank lor more highly paid workmen, desirous of larger pensions, or for those for whom Insurance is not compulsory. As a contribution to the expenses, especially high at the beginning, the Government should give a subsidy of s'A million florins (17,707,200 fr.) for a period of 75 years : by no means a small sum ; but well spent when we consider the number of the compulsory insured would be about 1,330,000 persons.