H,—l7

.1920. NEW ZEALAND.

NATIONAL PROVIDENT FUND. NINTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BOARD FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st DECEMBER, 1919.

Prepared in Terms of Section 23 of the National Provident Fund Act, 1910.

Thk contributors to the fund at the 31st December, 1919, numbered 16,154, compared with 13,410 at the end of the previous year, the new entrants totalling the highest yet recorded. The total fund amounted to £338,729 Is. 2d., an increase of £91,828 os. Id. ; while the' year's income from all sources amounted to £105,498 Is. The gross annual contribution rate at the 31st December last was £91,449 19s. 4d. The following statement sets out the progress of the fund's business since its establishment in 1911 :

The payments on account of maternity allowances to contributors and to members of "approved " friendly societies in 1919 amounted to £16,166 lis., as compared with £17,809 2s. for the previous year, tho reduced amount being due ter the operation of the income qualification as the rates of wages have» increased. This qualification has, however, been raised to £300 per annum as from the beginning of the- present year, and at the same time the allowance to members of " approved " friendly societies has been increased to £6 for each birth. Applications from local authorities to become contributors on behalf of their staffs continue to be received by the Board in terms of the 1914 Amendment Act. The following local authorities are now contributing to the fund on behalf of their employees : Wellington City Council, Napier Harbour Board, Christchurch City Council, Christchurch Tramway Board, Dunedin City Council, Napier Borough Council, Invercargill Borough Council, Timaru Borough Council, Thames County Council, Lyttelton Harbour Board, New Plymouth Borough Council, Wanganui Borough Council, Masterton County Council, Upper Hutt Town Board, Bluff Harbour Board, Wallace County Council, Southland County Council. This list comprises the majority of the larger and principal staffs in the Dominion. The system of uniting the local authorities' superannuation business and the transfer rights of these employees in one fund can now be regarded as successfully established. The management expenses of the ordinary contributors' business for the year were at the rate of 23-5 per oent. of the contribution income. W. H. Herries, Chairman of the Board. B. E. Hayes, Wellington, 19th August, 1920. Superintendent of the Fund.

Year. Annual ContriMembcrsbip. brrtion Rate at 31st December. i . ■ [_ Total Accumulated . b'nnd. Year. | Annual Contri- Total AcMembershipJ bution Rate at cumulated 31st December Fund. I i 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 £ 550 i 3,172 2,660 : 11.726 5.791 22.719 6,858 26.520 8,101 31.875 £ 1.826 10.038 29.327 53.718 83.000 1916 1917 1918 1919 £ £ 9,847 38,664 122,361 .. | 12,124 56.706 176,210 .. ' 13,410 69,486 246,901 16,154 91.450 338.729