The White Pine news. [volume] (Ely, Nev.) 1906-1910, 1907-08-08
PENSION LAW FOR
CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES

A member of the subcommittee
which made the final revision of the
proposed pension law for civil service
employees explained it's provisions to
New York Tribune reporter as fol-
lows:
The amounts deducted from sal
aries,' he said, will in no sense be
assessments, unjustly burdening the
younger employees for the benefit of
the older. Instead, it is proposed
that the sums shall be set aside as
savings in the United States treasury
by each individual employee for his
own ultimate benefit, or that of his
family, and with the knowledge that
at compound interest the amount
will. at the age of 20 years, be suffi-
Glen TO purchase a reasonable annu-
ity.
mo employee will in any way con-
tribute to the retirement fund of
other employees, nor will the savings
of any employee be diverted to an
others use. This fact is thought to
yor of the system.
''On arriving at the age of retire
ment the employee may convert his
of the following options: First, one
cash sum- second, an annuity pay
able throughout life, with the pro-
vision that in the event of the death
of the annuitant before he has re-
ceived in annuities the amount of his
savings, with interest, the balance
shall be paid to his estate, and
fourth, an annuity for limited term
of years.
But it is not merely the employee
that remains in the service until he
reaches the age of retirement who
will benefit by this measure. A per-
son separated from the service in any
manner before that age will have to
his credit sum of money which he
will be free to withdraw. If 1t
amounts to $1,000 and he has been
in the service not less than twenty
years, he may withdraw it under any
one of the foregoing options. In
case of his death in the service the
amount of his savings, with interest,
will be paid to his estate.
THE second part of the plan takes
care of employees now in the service.
If assistance at all in consideration
of their past services, or If the SER
vice would be improved by their re-
tirement. the government should
provide the funds. 1t Is, therefore,
proposed to give every employe now
| in the classified service at govern
ment expense, an annuity on reach
ing the age of TO-
AN employee 40 years of age, who
has been in the service fifteen years
at the time of the enactment of this
plan into law, would, on retirement,
thirty years hence, be entitled to re-
ceive an annuity from the govern
ment of 1.5 per cent of his pay for
each year of service up to the pass
age of such law, or 22.5 per cent
plus the amount of his own savings
from the time the law went into eff
! feet until his retirement, after thirty
years, at the age of 70. Suppose that
| this employee receives salary of
$1,000 per annum throughout the
term of his service On retiring at
the age of 20 he would be entitled to
an annuity of 1910 for the remainder
of his life, 1910 from the govern
ment, or LIS per cent of his salary
for the fifteen years he served prior
to the passage of the retirement law,
and $40 as the annuity from his
own savings-that is, LIS per cent of
his salary for every year of service
after the passage of the law
Under the plan submitted the an
nuity from the government-the
$270-would have no cash surren-
der value. 1t could be taken only as
an annuity, and could only be OBJ
tanned in case the employee remained
in the service until he reached the
age of 20. The $40, on the other
hand, which represents his own saw
ings, plus interest, could be convert
ed into the cash sum necessary to
buy that annuity, $4,007. He can
always, on leaving the service. with
draw his own money, but the contri-
button of the government for SER
vices rendered prior to the passage of
this act must always be taken in the
form of an annuity. None of these
funds, whether the savings of the
employee or the contribution of the
government, will be subject to at
techment or other legal process"