RETIRING TEACHERS

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 1005, 23 June 1930, Page 14

RETIRING TEACHERS

STATE CONTRIBUTIONS TO SUPERANNUATION FUND SUM OF £200.000 SHORT Declaring that the Government had contributed £200,000 less than it had originally undertaken to do, Mr. F. A. Garry, at the Auckland Headmasters’ Association’s dinner on Saturday evening, expressed the opinion that this was responsible for the teachers’ superannuation fund not being in the soundest position. When the fund was established in 1906. said Mr. Garry, teachers then in the service were given to understand that they would be able to join the fund without being liable for contributions to cover past service, the Government to be responsible for a sum to cover this. The necessary amount was £BOO,OOO. but in 24 years the Government had contributed only £600,000. He asserted that the position must be accentuated iji future because more and more money would have to be paid out of the fund. He declared that successive Governments had not met the situation fairly and squarely, but had been satisfied so long as there was sufficient money for immediate expenditure. That the instability of the superannuation fund was caused by charges that were unfairly laid on it, in the form of payments to teachers who had retired before they had paid much into the fund, was the opinion of Mr I-I. G. -R. Mason. M.P. In the opinion of Mr. G. C. Munns, M.P., no matter what salary a civil servant received, he should not receive some thousands a year on retirement, as was known to be occurring. It was absolutely wrong for a comparatively young man to draw heavily on the fund on retirement.