Evening star., 1924-08-31
HIGHER PAY PROPOSED
FOR RETIRED WORKERS
Legislation for Improvement or Retire
ment Law to be Pushed on Coming
Session of Congress:

Government actuary, Mr.. MCCOY,
who can calculate year in advance
just how much a revenue bill 10
going to yield, shows US in actual
figures the gain to the Government
through the present retirement act.
which has not as yet cost the Gov
ernment one penny.
There have been retired 12,785
employees, to whom was granted an
average annuity of s551.64. That Is,
instead of receiving an average OF
from $1,000 to s1.400 per year in
salary, they are receiving $55L64 in
annuity from the Government, which
borrowS the necessary cash from the
fund held in trust for those now
contributing. That is. the Govern
ment saves in salaries an average OF
over $500 a year on every employe
retired Before retirement these
employees cost the Government more
than $15,000,00 per annum.
After retirement, the cost, as
long as they live, is less than one
half of this amount, or about $1,000
900 Of borrowed money. 1t is true
that when this s15.o0o.0o0 was paid
them the Government received in
return some 100000 or $4,000 900
worth of services.
Again, the mortality among those
retired is very great-some 20 per
cent of those heretofore retired
having died. Let this matter be con-
sidercd from as cold-blooded and
money-grasping point of view as is
possible, and under provisions of
pending bills we have the following
results: Suppose that the average
annuity to be paid is $1,000. This
would save the Government directly
about $500 year. But. in addition,
of this $1,000 annuity, the employees
normally would themselves con-
tribute some $500, thus saving some
5000 to the Government, much more
than the value of their services i'm
meolately prior to retirement.
Saving for Government.
So, normally. instead of costing the
Government. retirement will be saw
ing it money. Those now on the re-
tired list will be costing the Govern
ment from $500 to 5000 less per year
than before retirement
OF course. with retirement under
the proposed legislation. probably
three or four times as many will be
retired before being practically
worthless to the Government. This
would make the average immediate
cost to the Government of the retire
ment of those who have not contrib
uted or contributed only for a limit
ed time more than the saving in re-
t1rement- This is somewhat in the
nature of the original capital invest
ed in a profitable business-a capital
that VIII later earn enormous profits.
The annuities of those to be re-
tired from now until the employees
| that have entered the service since
the enactment of such legislation
reach retirement age will cost the
Government at the beginning proba-
bly, about $500 to $500 a year each.
and this cost will gradually decrease
until it will finally be eliminated,
That is, for comparatively short pc
riod the Government. because of re-
| tirement, will have to pay more than
before retirement, this steadily de-
creasing until the net cost reaches
zero. After that time all the con-.
tributions on the part of the Govern
ment will probably be less than the
actual amount of cash saved to it by
the retirement system.
The foregoing is based on an en-
ploye contribution of per cent. The
proposed bill would make the con-
tribution 3t2 per cent.
Weed Out the InemeBrnt.
That is, retirement will weed the
service of all the inefficient and en-
able the empioye to devote his undi-
vided efforts to the Government, with
out continually thinking or the fu-
ture of himself and of his dear ones,
because his future will be guaranteed,
and a no additional cost to the Gov
ernment.
Is this not an attractive, cold
blooded u i n es S proposition?
Throughout the country large en-
ployers of men and women are find
ing it cheaper to have liberal retire
ment systems than it would be with
out them. This action is being fol-
lowed by many States and municipal
sities. especially as to school teachers.
: police, firemen, municipal employees,
tc., This all tends to better gov
ernment and more contented and
prosperous people. There is no char
ity in it. Not only does it cost moth
ing, where there is employe contxi-
button. but it actually saves money to
the employer. The old and incapaci-
tated give way. to the young and en-
ergetic, with the result that taxes
need not be increased, as there is no
increased cost of government, while
the taxes necessary to support elee-
mosynary and penal institutions will
be reduced.