SUPERANNUATION LIMITS.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 27 June 1938, Page 6

SUPERANNUATION LIMITS.

g ; 0 far as contributors to existing superannuation schemes are concerned, it has been decided, according to an announcement by the Prime Minister, to extend the income limitation under the national, superannuation scheme. In these eases the allowable income is to be increased on a sliding scale, so that there may be an annual income, including State superannuation, of not more than £312 a year. As it is stated, this proposal will open the way to the establishment of a decidedly anomalous state of affairs. It is not easy to see why a distinction should be drawn between people who have qualified for a superannuation annuity and those who have provided something for their old age in other ways, as, for example, by saving a certain amount of capital. From any reasonable standpoint, the distinction between those wlio have invested in superannuation and those who have invested in something else appears to be quite artificial and invidious. In many instances, the difference between those who are members of a State, local body or private superannuation fund, and those who are not, is purely one of opportunity. Many people have never had the option of joining such a fund. No doubt it is open to all who have the means to do so to invest in insurance annuities, but it is surely not right that they should be penalised if they prefer to invest their savings in some other fashion. If thfe Prime Minister’s announcement means what it seems to mean, the position certainly calls for further consideration. The facts presumably will be brought out in full detail, however, when the Government’s national health and superannuation legislation is laid before Parliament shortly.