Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1912-01-07
Discussion of Civil Service Re-
tirement Systems.
|PLANS IN GREAT BRITAIN
Former Senator Dick Favors the
Contributory Method.
BELIEVES IT MORE EQUITABLE
Conclusion Reached After Review
of Several Enactments Under
English Government.


| The committee of one hundred. formed
| to assist the civil employees of the gov
| eminent in obtaining better pay and an
| adequate retirement system, opened its
| winter campaign last night with the pub
| LEGATION of a statement of the civil serv-
| ice retirement system in Great Britain.
especially prepared in order TO assist
| members of Congress in reaching a de-
| termination in regard TO the legislation
necessary in this country. This is one
| of a series of articles which have been
compiled by former Senator Charles Dick
| of Ohio. director of the committee. The
| others will be given out from time to
! time. Ex-senator Dick discusses the
English system as follows:
Great Britain has had a general sys-
| tenn for the retirement on pension of her
| civil service employees for over 100 years,
and her experience must be very valu-
able to any other country contemplating
| similar legislation. and especially SO. for
| obvious reasons. to the United States.
| Her last statute on the subject is less
than two years old which fact, coupled
with the numerous statutory changes
that have occurred in the past century,
l SHOWS the ullIlculIlPS inherent III IHe a
tempt to evolve civil pension system
| which will be generally satisfactory.
England's Early Efforts.
LAS early as the latter part of the
| eighteenth century British cabinet min
| listers had recommended that adequate pro-
| vision be made from the general treasury
| If necessary for the support of public
officers who had grown old or become
| infirm in the public service. Long be-
| fore that time, however. provision had
| been made for the support OF employees in
certain branches Of the service.
| AS early as 1856 a fund called a super
animation fund was created in the ex-
| else department, corresponding roughly
| to our internal revenue bureau, by de-
Quoting three pence per pound from the
salaries of the employees. 4 similar fund
| was created in the customs service in
| 170S. The pensions paid ranged from
s73 to S146. One of the rules laid down
| was that no officer who had not served
seven years was to receive any sum OF
money or pension unless disabled by
accident
Pension Act of 1910.
The first general pension act was
! equal to one-third the salary for in
half ten to twenty years of service, two
thirds after twenty years of service; to
| employees retiring after reaching the age
of sixty years. three-fourths to Of
| ficers over sixty-five years of age
| after forty years OF service, and
| the whole salary after fifty years
| of service The terms of this
paid out for civil pensions trebled in ten
years. No contributions were required
from the employees. In 1922 an act was
passed compelling employees to pay to-
ward pensions from ~ to 10 per cent
of their salaries This law was I'm force
| less than two years and was repealed be-
| cause such compulsory contributions
were considered a violation of contract
| on the part of the government.
After a five-year period of free pen
| sions 1a24 to 1920, the treasury de-
partment made order that all per-
sons thereafter entering the public
service should contribute to the pension
| fund by deductions made from their
| salaries. This action was confirmed by
an act of parliament of 1s34,.which re-
| manned in force twenty-three years The
| charge made against employees by this
act was greater than under the law of
was lower. The fact that clerks who
entered the civil service before 1929
were pensioned without any deduction
against their pay, and the further fact
| that no refund was made to clerks who
resigned or died before they reached
the age of retirement, made the act
| of 1884 very unpopular, and the volume
of dissatisfaction steadily grew.
Not a Sound Measure.
Though not more than one in six
| or seven VINO contributed to the fund
remained in office long enough to secure
any return of what he had paid in,
which led the clerks to think they were
paying in much more than was ever
returned to them. a matter of fact
the scheme was actually unSound, be-
cause the clerks who entered service
after 1929 We're paying the pensions of
| those who had entered before that year
| In 1867 parliament repealed the pro-
! vision requiring deductions to he made
from the salaries of clerks. against me
opposition of the government. which
deprecated burdening the treasury with
such additional expense. The entire act
of 1884 was practically repealed IN
1850 and the new law provided free ana
universal pensions for all employees IN
| the permanent civil service equal to one
sixtieth of the salary at time of retire.
ment for each year of service not to ex-
coed forty-sixtieths. Retirement was not
made compulsory at any age. and no
| provision was made for dependent MEM
bers of a clerks family. This law De-
came very unpopular In time because the
employees felt their pensions were taken
out of their pay and that their salaries
were thereby kept at lower point than
would otherwise have been the case
Extending and Supplementing.
| Another approximation act was pass
ed in 1887. extending and experimenting
| the act of 1850. The contention of en-
ployes that the pension system was. in
fact, contributory system, was admit
ted by the last law on the subject. the
act of 1909. which extended the benefits
| of the pension system to all persons in
the civil service instead Of limiting the
benefits, as did the former law, to those
| who lived to reach the pensionable age
| of sixty wears. Benefits are now paid
| to those who resign or die before arriv-
| ing at the pensionable age.
i THE conclusion which stands out most
| clearly as the result of Great Britain 8
century and more Of experience is that
! a proper contributory system is bound
to prove more satisfactory to the en-
ployes in the civil service than straight
government pension.
| rvYrrYsr M Mod TOM = Np ANE