19 the teachers’ contributions are placed in individual accounts, while the state’s contributions are available to meet cur­ rent pension payments, with any bal­ ance being available as a general re­ serve. The maintenance of modified rather than full reserves permits lower initial contributions by the governing body, does not require as large a pen­ sion reserve fund as would be necessary under the full reserve plan, and if pro­ perly developed and supervised may be financially sound while still avoiding the necessity of greatly increased con­ tributions by the governing body in later years. In the second place, criticisms are sometimes directed at provisions com­ monly found in allocation reserve plans, but not essential characteristics of such plans. For example, allocation reserve plans do not normally definitely state the sum which will be paid as an an­ nuity, that being made to depend on the contributions and rate of interest received. This indefiniteness, if consid­ ered serious, could be met by varying the rate of contribution according to such factors as the age and sex of the employee, so that a definite sum could be promised as a pension. The specific advantages of the ac­ tuarial reserve plan are: (1) lower costs because accumulated interest com­ pounded annually bears a part of the cost, (2) costs are known w ith suffi­ cient accuracy so th at benefits are lim ­ ited to the financial abilities of the par­ ticipants, (3) the plan is in accord w ith the policy of “pay as you go,” since it distributes the financing burdens equit- (Continued on page 28) inquire About Low Cost Loans Through the State Em ployees Credit Union w here all dealings are strictly confidential. In th e past eight years we have loaned m ore th a n $26 1 ,0 0 0 .0 0 to state em ployees in Salem and M arion C ounty. If y o u w ish to borrow m oney, w e will b e g la d to furnish full infor­ m ation w ithout obligation or e m b arrassm en t to you. See W. J. P . FA R R ELL , T r e a s u re r 518 S tate O ffice B uilding, Salem , o r call 4171 E x ten sio n 303