A
—

A SERIES ON PENSIONS IN OTHER COUNTRIES <- |

4—WEST GERMANY

Under Adenauer plan
government pays nothing

In this fourth and last of a series examining old age pension schemes in var-

ious countries, Lanc Samson describes the

West Ger-

age pensions scheme

in the

effect with much gov-

ernment drum-beating, early

this year.

> German old-age pension
scheme was ori

m

unaer

duced

2O¢ ‘oe Reece
1889. For the p seven jy

the Adenauer gover ant had

promised to introduce social
‘eforms, including pension im-
1ents

t year it put forward its
first proposals — on pensions
when in East Germany
cratic Republic in-
new, simple com-
ive pension scheme.

Higher payments under the
new Adenauer scheme wil! be
back-daied to the start of this
year — but first instalments
are expected to be paid only
a few weeks before the vital
West German general ‘election
on September 15.

Here in brief is how the
Adenauer scheme — chiefly
remarkable for its extreme
complexity — will work.

Who gets the old age pen-
sion?

As before, men and women
will have the right to a pen-
sion at 65. Women who have
worked most of the past 20
years, but have stopped work-
ing, can get them at 60, and
so can men, if they have been
continuously unemployed for
the last year before they reach
60.

In any case, 15 years of in-
surance payments are a mini-
mum. necessary qualification.

Everyone earning up to $3,-
780 a year — roughly $75 a

h pensions in the Soviet L

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CUSTOM TAILORS
Also Ready-Made Clothes
2425 E. Hastings St.
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Owner: Mr. Carl Pepe
HA. 2923

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Jnion, U.S. and
week — is compulsorily in-
cluded in the pension schicme,
which now, covers 80 percent
of the working population.

How much will they get?

Each pension is to be work-
ed out on a highly complicat-
ed formula based on the indi-
vidual’s earnings in
the past, the number of years
he has been insured, and the
average level of wages.

The government, with the
help of a specially set-up so-
cial affairs advisory commit-
tee, will fix each year the sum
to be taken as the basis for
all payments, taking average
earnings over the preceding
three years as a guide.

Each pension will be a per-
centage of that sum, varying
according to wheiher the in-
dividual earned more or less
than the average in the past,
and with 1.5 percent counted
for every year of insurance.

New pensioners and present
pensioners alike will have
their payments calculated like
this. Any present pensioner
who would not qualify for an
increase from the old rate, of
just under $6 a week, will im-
mediately get a $1.40 increase.

But for some it will mean
an increase to an average of
$12.60 a week, to vary in the
future according to the yearly
decision by’ the government.

average

West German scheme. Previous articles
»zechoslovakia.

How much will they pay?

The workers’ contribution
for old age’ pension and unem-
ployment benefit has been
raised from 9 percent of earn-
ings to 10 percent. Of this, 8
percent is for the pension.

Employers pay another 7
percent of the gross earnings
of their employees — and the
state’ pays nothing.

Chief criticisms the Social
Democrat Opposition and the
trade unions have _ raised
against the new measures are:

1. The Adenauer’ govern-
ment claims the new law
means a 70 percent rise
in pensions.. “A myth,”
say the Social Democrats.

2 The whole scheme is
* purposely so complicated
that no one can easily
work out the benefits to
which he is entitled.

2) The yearly fixing of the
base sum leaves the level
of pensions still in the
power of the government,
and does not make a vis-
able pension every work-
er’s right.

4 The absence of any state
* contribution is an attempt
to put the whole scheme
on an_ actuarial basis,
which takes another huge
bite out of the earnings

of the workers.

Here a new immigrant gives the photographer a suspic-
ious glance. Maybe he doesn’t know that Pickersgill is
no longer minister of immigration. He’s one of a herd of ig)
40 Highland cattle brought in from Scotland by an Alder- ~ \
grove farmer. The herd arrived in New Westeminster in
g00d condition despite the 6,000-mile journey by boat and

McINTOSH

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TRANSFER

*

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‘

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Vancouver 4, B.C.

Greetings To All Our Patrons

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Plumbing and Heating Supplies

PA. 8627

train. A
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(Russia, Ukraine, Byelo-Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia

4 and other Soviet Republics)

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Vancouver 10

Phone: EX. 3118

HOURS

— 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. daily
(except Sundays)

Serving Vancouver and all of B.C.

For your convenience, we now have for sale: suiting, .
yard goods, leather and many other‘ articles to facilitate”

you in preparing your parcel.

JUNE 28, 1957 — PACIFIC TRIBUNE—PAGE