Superannuation

“ Every existing officer who is by this Act transferred to any county or district council, or is an officer of any board of guardians, and would, if he were to retire on the appointed day, be qualified for a superannuation allowance, shall, without prejudice to any existing right, when he resigns or ceases to hold his office for some cause other than misconduct, be entitled to receive a superannuation allowance on the scale and according to the Acts and rules relating to Her Majesty's civil service. ”

“ At last, the principal railway companies, with the consent of their shareholders, and with Parliamentary sanction, established Superannuation Funds, which ever since have brought comfort and security to their officers and clerical staff, and have proved of benefit to the companies themselves. A pension encourages earlier retirement from work, quickens promotion, and vitalises the whole service. ”

“ The Death's Head was there, we all knew that, for when eight very elderly gentlemen meet together at the time of the sending out of the Superannuation forms, there is always present the knowledge that they may not all ever meet again. ”

“ Thus members were able, after 1918, to pay for death benefits of £5 to £20, £25, £38, £44, or £58 as they desired; and for £7 10s., £1, £15, £20, or £35 retiring allowance at sixty, in addition to weekly superannuation of 4s., 5s., 6s., to 7s. per week. These were notably good benefits, a possible further need being the increase, as funds allow, of the superannuation allowance to sums that meet more accurately the post-war cost of living.
The year 1918 brought an extension of the military age to fifty years, all men under that age being liable to conscription. ”

“ Again, though the perturbation of waking woke a sense of rebellion in the dreamer's mind as to the justice and expediency of the Superannuation scheme, my belief in it now is fast and firmly rooted. For—such is the wisdom of the questions—no one, except the most useless drone, stands within the danger of the State-inflicted death. Usefulness, beauty, cause of happiness in others, improvement in oneself, even mere personal happiness, are all taken to be signs—or so I read the paper—that the signatory of the form is still paying his way, so to speak, in the world ”

“ The law on the subject, although frequently amended, is still based upon the Superannuation Act of 1859, which grants to "persons who shall have served in an established capacity in the permanent civil service of the state" for ten years, and retire at sixty years of age or by reason of infirmity, a pension equal to ten sixtieths of their final salary. ”

“ It was possible, during the first eight years, for an elderly worker to join, to pay a matter of £1 in regular contributions for eighteen months, and then to fall back on superannuation at £13 a year. ”

“ Notwithstanding anything in the Pensions Commutation Acts, 1877 to 1882, it shall be lawful for the Treasury to commute for a capital sum so much of any superannuation, compensation or retiring allowance as is payable out of moneys provided by Parliament to a person so transferred as aforesaid and for the Secretary of State so to commute so much of any such allowance as is payable to such a person out of the revenues of the Federation. ”

“ Where the common fate is shipwreck, people are afraid to embark their fortunes, and hence superannuation allowance is not likely to be popular when granted by the friendly society. It will require time and a great change in the rural classes before they will seek such provision by means of the Post Office. ”

“ Advances were very properly conceded to them to meet the ever-increasing cost of living, and in 1918 there was instituted a superannuation scheme on a joint contributory basis, to make provision for old age retirement of each member of the staff. ”

“ The act gave power to the treasury to grant by way of additional allowance to a civil servant who retired after not less than two years’ service, in addition to his superannuation, a lump sum equal to one-thirtieth of his annual salary and emoluments multiplied by the number of completed years he has served, so however that such lump sum does not exceed one and a half times his salary, while if he retires alter attaining the age of sixty-five years, there must be deducted from that lump sum one-twentieth for every completed year that he has served after attaining that age. ”

“ They, therefore, were unhesitatingly of opinion that the public interest would be best consulted by maintaining a system of superannuation allowances.”269
In accordance with the foregoing recommendation Parliament, in 1859, enacted that the Treasury might give “abolition terms” to persons whose offices should be abolished in consequence of the “reorganization” of their department, or branch of service. Under that Act, inefficient persons who are “reorganized out of the service” are given “pro rata” pensions, plus an allowance for “abolition of their office.” ”

“ Harrison employed him for several months in computations relative to the Superannuation Act, and in 1822 he was occupied in considerations relative to the commutation of the naval and military half-pay and pensions. The measure consequently suggested by him was finally established by negotiations with the Bank of England in 1823 for its acceptance of the charge for public pensions in consideration of the ‘dead weight’ annuity. ”

“ Women Civil Servants are under the Superannuation Act of 1859 as regards their pensions, and receive an amount equal to one-sixtieth of their annual salary at retirement, for every year of service. Under the Courtney Scheme of 1909, the basis of calculation is one-eightieth instead of one-sixtieth, and the reduction in the pension is compensated by a cash payment at retirement, or, in the event of death occurring whilst in harness, a cash payment is made to the next-of-kin. ”

“ My own feeling is that we should make the pension, like the superannuation benefit of Trades Unions, claimable by those aged 65 and upwards who have not an income of more than £1 a week or property valued at more than £250. We should then probably have to provide for about 1,400,000 to 1,500,000 pensioners, at a cost of £18,000,000 to £20,000,000. Administration would cost about £500,000 and we should save about £4,000,000 in poor rates. ”

“ This evil, of numbers qualified but not appointed, has grown so great in Canada that it has lately been ordered that there shall be only one examination in each year.
The federal pension system cannot be considered settled. A man may be superannuated at any time, but by custom, not law, he retires at the full age of sixty. While in service he pays a superannuation allowance of two and a half per cent, on his salary for thirty-five years; after that, no more. If he is superannuated after ten years’ service, say, he gets one-fiftieth of his salary for each year. ”

“ The results of this plan would be two-fold: first, to relieve the detrimental effect of superannuation upon the efficiency of the service, and, secondly, to remove the fear of those who look for more drastic measures of relief. ”

“ No. 23, s. 53.Provided that the said sum of three thousand five hundred pounds shall in each year be paid to the Civil Service Superannuation Account, in accordance with and subject to the provisions of the Civil Service Act, 1884, and that a list of all pensions granted under this Act and of the persons to whom the same have been granted shall be laid in every year before both Houses of the Legislature. ”

“ Panizzi’s services, and of recommending their Lordships to award him such a superannuation allowance as they may consider just, under the circumstances, in conformity with the Superannuation Act, 1859, sections 2592 and 9, with the Treasury letter of the 7th of June, 1860, and with the Treasury Minute of the 24th of August of the same year.
“Should the Trustees do Mr. Panizzi the honour of considering that, on his resignation being accepted by Her Majesty, his knowledge of Museum affairs might be of use to the Trustees for a limited period, to be fixed by themselves, Mr. ”

“ Civil servants retiring on the ground of ill health after less than ten years’ service qualify for a gratuity of one month’s pay for each year of service. Previous to the Superannuation Act o 1909 the pension was calculated at the rate of one-sixtieth of the retiring salary for each completed year of service, subject to a maximum of forty-sixtieths. ”

“ Anyone over the age of sixty-five was liable to receive each year from the Home Office a printed paper, which, like the income-tax return, he had to fill up to the best of his power and belief. Everybody over that age did not receive them, but a very large number were sent out each year. ”

“ A standard annuity table (including a 3 1/2% interest assumption) is used to determine the dollar amount of the first monthly pay-out, based on a capital contribution of the accumulated amount, under the option selected by the investor. The number of 'annuity units' (which are functions of the fluctuating asset value of the portfolio of the company) that this amount would buy is computed, and this number of annuity units in paid (transmuted into a varying cash payment) to the investor every subsequent month for the duration of the company's commitment under the option selected. ”

“ While all the States regulate 'annuities' under their 'insurance' laws, traditionally and customarily they have been fixed annuities, offering the annuitant specified and definite amounts beginning with a certain year of his or her life. The standards for investment of funds underlying these annuities have been conservative. The variable annuity introduced two new features. First, premiums collected are invested to a greater degree in common stocks and other equities. Second, benefit payments vary with the success of the investment policy. ”

“ The careful capitalist does not fail to see that the present value of the amount assured exceeds the present value of the annuity or annual premium yet to be paid by the assured party. The present value of the amount assured is exactly represented by the annuity which would have to be paid on a new policy; or, thirty-eight dollars per annum in the case supposed, where the party is forty-five years old; whilst the present value of the premiums yet to be paid on a policy taken by the same person at twenty-five is but little more than half that amount. ”

“ The difficulty is that, absent some guarantee of fixed income, the variable annuity places all the investment risks on the annuitant, none on the company. [12] The holder gets only a pro rata share of what the portfolio of equity interests reflects which may be a lot, a little, or nothing. We realize that life insurance is an evolving institution. Common knowledge tells us that the forms have greatly changed even in a generation. And we would not undertake to freeze the concepts of 'insurance' or 'annuity' into the mold they fitted when these Federal Acts were passed. ”

“ A sample contract, given in evidence in the District Court, is one issued to a 35-year-old male, providing for his making 30 annual payments of $1,000 each. Of this, $39.60 is the consideration for an undertaking by the company by which payment of the annual $1,000 is waived in the event of disability. Of the remaining $960.40, designated the 'basic annuity premium,' specified percentages are used to credit to the account of the investor certain 'accumulation units.' Of the first year's 'basic annuity premium,' less than 45% is so used ”

“ The holder of a variable annuity cannot look forward to a fixed monthly or yearly amount in his advancing years. It may be greater or less, depending on the wisdom of the investment policy. In some respects the variable annuity has the characteristics of the fixed and conventional annuity: payments are made periodically; they continue until the annuitant's death or in case other options are chosen until the end of a fixed term or until the death of the last of two persons; payments are made both from principal and income ”

“ The retirement of bonds in the future before maturity should be a matter of convenience, not of compulsion. We should not collect revenue for that purpose, but only use any casual surplus. To the balance of $32,860,030.05 of receipts over expenditures for the year 1894 should be added the estimated surplus at the beginning of the year, $20,992,377.03, and from this aggregate there must be deducted, as stated by the Secretary, about $44,000,000 of estimated unexpended appropriations. ”

“ However, the net premium guarantee is, because of this conversion system, also a guarantee that a certain amount of fixed-amount payment life annuity will be available at maturity.
After maturity the policyholder has no further interest in the 'Flexible Fund.' He has either received the value of his interest in cash, or converted to a fixed-payment annuity in which case his interest has been transferred from the 'Flexible Fund' to the general reserves of the company, and mingled, on equal terms per dollar of cash value, with the interests of holders of conventional deferred annuities. ”

“ Professor Adams establishes his annuity on the depreciated value, rather than on the cost, or the reproduction cost, which, in the speaker's opinion, does not determine the proper annuity or reasonable fixed charges to be deducted from net income before net surplus is established. Bonds are generally sold at a considerable discount, and represent the full cost plus this discount, consequently, the interest on bonds or fixed charges will be greater than an annuity established on cost, "reproduction cost," or "present value." ”

“ His monthly payment is not really a dollar payment, though it is converted into dollars before it is paid to him; it is a payment in terms of a portfolio of securities. It is true that the company has a fixed obligation to continue payments, and that the duration and the amount of the payments are not affected by collective longevity in excess of the company's assumptions; the company's obligation to continue payments is not limited in any way by reference to the number of units owned by all the investors at the start of their annuity periods. ”