10
State Retirement Plan Versus
Social Security
The provisions of the Federal Social
Security Act which do not apply
to public employees are Unemployment
Compensation and Old Age and Sur
vivors Insurance. The latter is not de
signed as a complete retirement plan
but as a n minimum layer of basic pro
tection against the major economic haz
ards of life.”
The placing of public employees un
der Old Age and .Survivors Insurance
as currently urged by many groups
would not remove the need for a re
tirement plan. An adequate retirement
plan permits the employee to contribute
to the accumulation of reserves to fi
nance retirement benefits which per
mits routine retirement without violent
readjustments in standards of living.
Many states provide retirement plans
which require their employees to contri
bute small amounts each month during
their productive years to provide funds
to care for themselves during their de
clining years. When retirement benefits
are inadequate to permit retirement
without a violent readjustment of
standards of living, employees do not
accept retirement until it is made com
pulsory. The tendency is to remain in
service as long as permitted and much
of the anticipated benefits to be de
rived from the retirement system are
lost to the state.
Private industry in many instances
is providing liberal sickness and disabil
ity benefits in addition to retirement
benefits for their employees. These pro
grams were adopted by the larger com
panies first but are today maintained
by industry everywhere. We noted the
following news item in the September
17, 1944, issue of the Oregon Journal:
"B a n k B oosts B e n e f it s
to
E m plo y es
Members of the staff of the First National
Bank were told last week of new benefits
available to them for contingencies of sick
ness, disability and hospitalization. Also an
nounced to the employes by E. B. Mac-
Naughton, president, are three new options
in the retirement plan.
Under sickness and disability plan em
ployes will receive sick benefits starting
with one week’s full salary for those hav
ing less than one year’s service and increas
ing for each year up to 10 years. Upon com
pletion of 10 years’ service the employe will
be eligible to receive a full year’s sick leave
with salary payments made up of 12 weeks
full pay and 40 weeks half pay. Group life
insurance benefits provide for monthly pay
ments for total and permanent disability.
The group hospitalization and surgical
benefits plan is a voluntary arrangement
participated in by the employe and the bank.
Two new provisions are being introduced.
First, a provision for surgical and hospital
ization benefits for family dependents, and
second under-writing by the bank of one
half the premium for this insurance for all
employes who avail themselves of the pro
tection. Benefits include hospital cost of $ 5
per day up to a maximum of 70 days plus
surgical, medical and diagnosis X-ray costs.
New provisions include one in which the
First National now makes it possible for an
employe who wishes to retire before the age
of 65 when federal social security payments
start, to do so with a larger retirement
payment from the bank’s pension fund un
til such time as he reaches the age to re
ceive social security payment.
Third new provision is a clause under
which all employes who found it necessary
to withdraw from the pension plan when
entering military service may sign anew on
the same basis on which they left.”
Another such item is quoted from the
magazine Spring Steel, issue of Septem
ber, 1944, published by the U. S. Spring
Bumper Co., manufacturers of the steel
brackets used in Oregon’s modern
highway guard fence:
“ H e a l t h P l a n
for
E m pl o y e e s ’ B e n e f it
In appreciation of the loyalty and splendid
cooperation of its employees in maintaining