Missouri Valley times. [volume] (Missouri Valley, Iowa) 1874-1931, 1900-03-22
That q. Pension scheme.

we noted some!tlme ago, Q pro-
posed scheme BY the O. B u @.
railroad to pay pension to it's
employees, who had reached a ser
tain age aud had also seen a GER
tain number of years continuous
service with The company.
The statement was a Clipping in
the "T1srEs" from soma other pa.
per, and did not give either the
age to he reached, or the time of
service to entitle the employee to
retirement, and pension.
The author followed with the
comment that it was q good thing,
and would, on doubt be very pop.
ular with the employees OF that
road. Now, We believe it is .
good thing; splendid thing; .
MAGNIFICENT thing FOR THE ROAD.
Each employee who wishes to be
on the list of pensioners (but our
informant ssyeth not that their
wishes are consulted) must pay
into a fund set aside as pension
fund, one percent Of his salary.
Now we will assume that the
proposition is based on q like
scheme by one Of the eastern
roads; viz: The employe, to merit
q pension. must have reached
seventy years Of age, and been in
the employ of the company as fol-
lows: Thirty years, to entitle him
to q pension equal to one-half his
monthly salary; twenty years to
entitle him to pension of one
third his monthly salary and ten
years to entitle him to q pension
Of one fourth his monthly salary.
Now we will take $50 per month
as the average wages Of employees,
and we find that in thirty years,
he will have contributed six dol
lars per year, OF one hundred and
eighty, all told to this fund. He
then receives three hundred dol
lars per year, and we find that he
has paid in enough to supply the
demand on this fund for seven
and one third months.
But this one hundred and
eighty dollars has been on deposit
for the average term of fifteen
years, which reckoned at four per
cent, amounts to one hundred and
eight dollars interest, or two hum
dred and Lightweight dollars; suf-
fioient to pay the pension for al
most one year.
Again in twenty years service
the employe will contribute 1920
in principal and s48 in interest,
making q total Of sl68, which will
pay his pension of $l65 per month
for ten months.
In the ten years service the en-
ploye will contribute sixty dollars
in principal, and twelve dollars in
interest, making total of seventy
two dollars, or enough to pay his
pension for less than six months;
this seems to work in an adverse
ratio; for in each case the shorter
the term of service, the more re.
sponsibility thu company would
assume.
Did all employees, or even one
half of them live to the age Of
seventy. no company would for a
moment entertain q thought Of
such q proposition; but when we
consider the fact that no more
than one person in one thousand
live to the age Of seventy, and not
one in FIVE hundred Of these (those
in the company employ have seen
even ten years continuous service.
1.-THE question assumes a different
aspect.
Suppose the compsny eM. oss
three thousand men, three of
whom reach the age of seventy,
one has seen thirty years service,
one twenty years and one ten years.
Now during that thirty years,
the three Thousand employees had
contributed $54O, 600 to this fund
as principal, and 1924 900 as in
terest or total of $S64,OOO. An
amount sufficient to pay the pen
sion of these three men for 1898
years. 1--WE doubt it they would
need it much longer than that.
1t may be said that these three
Thousand men had not been CON.