700 Transactions.— Miscellaneous. 



that one-half of the 37,538 persons over sixty years of age — 

 viz., 18,769 — were to claim their pension of 10s. weekly, or 

 £26 per annum, the sum required would be £487,994. Ac- 

 cording to a letter from the Commissioner of the Government 

 Life Insurance Department relative to the annual payment 

 necessary to secure a pension of £26 a year on and after the 

 age of sixty-five, it appears that an annual payment of £1 lis. 

 commencing at the age of eighteen would suffice to secure an 

 annuity of £26 a year payable at the age of sixty-five, interest 

 being estimated on a 3-per-cent. scale. Now, if the payments 

 of Id. a day for every working -day was to begin as sug- 

 gested by me — viz., so soon as young people begin any form 

 of employment — i.e., at an average of fifteen years — it will be 

 found that on a 4-per-cent. scale the payment of £1 6s. Id. 

 per annum would be sufficient to provide an annuity of £26 a 

 year, payable at sixty, or at such period afterwards as the 

 recipients might desire. x\s for the time of retirement, the 

 question should be an open one, depending upon physical 

 capacity, as there are many men to be found in the colony 

 who are physically and mentally more capable at the age of 

 seventy than are others at the age of fifty-five. 



The interesting return by the Eegistrar of Friendly Societies 

 which was made last year, pursuant to section 19 of "The 

 Eegistration of People's Claims Act, 1896," for old-age pen- 

 sions, shows that 8,018 persons in the colony — viz., 5,602 

 men and 2,408 women — over the age of sixty-five years sent 

 in a claim to be registered as entitled to participate under the 

 proposed Act ; 5,584 claims— equal to 26-9 per cent, of the 

 total over sixty-five years of age — were admitted, the others 

 being either rejected or deferred for further information and 

 inqun-y. 



Now, the number of claims differs very little from what 

 might have been expected under ordinary circumstances. 

 The claims from the women were perhaps fewer than might 

 be expected under ordinary conditions, but of the 20,756 

 persons over the age of sixty-five years in the colony certainly 

 not more than one-half might be expected to lay claim to a 

 pension at any period under the conditions laid down. 



In England 12 per cent, of the population over sixty years 

 of age are in receipt of parish relief, and no doubt a large per- 

 centage are on the verge of poverty, but prefer to remain 

 dependent upon outside charity rather than have the stigma 

 of pauper attached to their names and homes. 



It has been pointed out already that of the 447,367 per- 

 sons in the colony over the age of fifteen years 409,829 are 

 between the ages of fifteen and sixty. One penny daily de- 

 ducted from the earnings of each for 313 working -days 

 would give an income of £534,485 4s. 9d. If, now, we assume 



