Superannuation and Family Benefits Act Amendment Act 1947 (WA)

No. 65.] Superannuation and Family Benefits. [1947-

SUPERANNUATION AND FAMILY

BENEFITS.

11° and 12' GEO. VI., No. LXV.

No. 65 of 1947.

AN ACT to amend the Superannuation and Family

Benefits Act, 1938-1945.

[Assented to 10th January, 1948.]

BE it enacted by the King's Most Excellent Majesty,by and with the advice and consent of the Legis- lative Council and Legislative Assembly of Western Australia, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:—

Short bile.

of. No. 55 nI	1. (1) This Act may be cited as the Superannuation
1945, s. 21.

Reprinted	and Family Benefits Act Amendment Act, 1947, and shall
1947.	be read as one with the Superannuation and Family Benefits Act, 1938-1945 (Act No. 34 of 1938 as reprinted pursuant to the Amendments Incorporation Act, 1938, as amended by Acts No. 43 of 1939 and No. 55 of 1945), hereinafter referred to as the principal Act, and shall come into operation on a day to be fixed by proclamation.
Citation.	(2) The principal Act as amended by this Act may be cited as the Superannuation and Family Benefits Act, 1938-1947.

1947.] Superannuation and Family Benefits. [No. 65.

2. Section three of the principal Act is amended as Aorsenad.ment

follows :-

(a) By inserting after the words "Division 3, ss. 40-42—Scale of Contributions by Employees" under Part IV—the words and figures "Divi- sion 3A, s. 42A—Reserve Units of Pension"; and

(b) by inserting after the words "Endowment Fund" at the end of Division 5 under Part V, the words and figures "Division 6, ss. 83A- 83B—The Provident Account."

Amendment

3. Section six of the principal Act is amended as of 6. 6.

follows :-

(a) By deleting from lines three and four of the definition of "Department" in subsection (1) the words "Agricultural Bank" and inserting in lieu thereof the words "The State Elec- tricity Commission of Western Australia, the Rural and Industries Bank";

(b) by inserting after the word "forty-three" in each of lines twenty-three and thirty-two of paragraph (i) of the proviso to the second paragraph of the definition of "Department" the words "and section forty-four";

(c)	by inserting after the word "Arbitration" in line eight of the definition of "Employee"- the words "and does not include a person who is a contributor to, or is in receipt of a pension on the ground of invalidity or physical or mental incapacity from, any Superannuation Fund to which contributions are made by the Crown other than the Crown in right of Western Australia";
(d)	by inserting in subsection (1) after the definition of "The maximum age for retirement" a definition as follows :-

"The Provident Account" means the Provi- dent Account established under Part V. of this Act.

No. 65.] Superannuation and Family Benefits. [1947.

Amendment

01 a 30. 4. Section thirty of the principal Act is amended as

cf. C'wealth	follows :-
No. 35 of

1947, s. 6	(a)	By deleting from subsection (2) in line three
and 7.

the words "and approved by the State Gov-

ernment Actuary."

(b) By amending the numbers of subsections (3)

and (4) to read (4) and (7) respectively, and

(c) by inserting new subsections as follows :—

(3) For the purposes of the investigation, the rate of interest assumed to be earned by the assets of the fund shall be not less than three pounds fifteen shillings per cen- tum per annum.

Payment by

State to fund	(5) Where in relation to any financial year the amount ascertained in accordance with the prescribed formula to be the amount earned by the fund is less than the amount required to provide the rate speci- fied in subsection (3)' of this section, the State shall pay to the fund an amount equal to the difference between those amounts.
in Tespeet of
interest.
(6) If any investigation made under this section discloses a surplus of assets over liabilities of the fund, the amount of the surplus shall be set off against the amount or amounts otherwise payable by the State to the fund under subsection (5) of this section.
Amendment

of a. 33.	5. Subsection (1) of section thirty-three is repealed.
Amendment
of s. 34.	6. Section thirty-four of the principal Act is amended

by deleting from paragraph (c) of subsection (4) the word "the" in line two and inserting in lieu thereof the word "any ;" and by deleting the words "he would be required under this Act to" in lines three and four of that paragraph, and inserting in lieu thereof the words "under this Act he may."

Amendment

of s. 35. 7. Section thirty-five of the principal Act is amended

by deleting the proviso thereto.

1947.] Superannuation and Family Benefits. [No. 65.

8. Section thirty-seven of the principal Act is amended f'ergme'"

as follows :—

(a) By deleting from subsection (1) the scale con- tained therein and substituting the following scale:—

Column One. Column Two. Scale of units.

Where the Annual Salary

The Employee may con- Equivalent

of the Employee

tribute the amount neces-	to an annual
sary to provide units of	pension of— Cwltlt. No. 35

Exceeds—	Does not	pension as under	of 1947, s. 9.
exceed-

£ s. d.

130 Two 65 0

130	150	Two and a half	81	5
156	208	Three	97 10
208	260	Four	130	0
260	312	Five	162 10
312	304	Six	195	0
364	416	Seven	227 10
416	468	Eight	260	0
468	520	Nine	292 10
520	572	Ten	325	0
572	624	Eleven	357 10
624	676	Twelve	390	0

676 728 Thirteen .... 422 10

728 780 Fourteen .... 455 0

780	832	Fifteen	....	487 10
832	884	Sixteen	....	520 0
884	936	Seventeen	552 10

936 988 Eighteen ... 585 0

988 1,040 Nineteen ... 617 10

1,040 Twenty ... 650 0

(b) Subsection (2) is repealed. National Insurance

(c) By deleting from line one of subsection (3) the rp erio) ev sl odn.

words "Subject to subsection (2) of this

section."

(d)	Paragraph (d) of subsection (6) is repealed.
(e)	By adding at the end of the section a new sub-

section as follows :—

(10) Where a contributor or a qualified

contributor who makes an election under

subsection (9) of this section has completed

No. 65.] Superannuation and Family Benefits. [1947.

his contributions up to the anniversary of his initial contribution next preceding the attainment by him of the maximum age for retirement, the provisions of the proviso to subsection (5) of section thirty-six shall apply in respect of the additional units for which lie elects under subsection (9) of this section.

New section

37A. 9. A section is inserted in the principal Act after

section thirty-seven as follows :—

Provisions re

contributors	37A. (1) Where, immediately prior to the date
whose

salaries	of commencement of the Superannuation and Family
exceed £676
per annum.	Benefits Act Amendment Act, 1.947, a contributor
cf. Cwith.
1947, s. 30.	whose salary exceeded six hundred and seventy-six pounds per annum was contributing for the maximum number of units of pension for which he was eligible to contribute, he may, within twelve months after that date, elect to increase the amount of his contri- butions to a sum which will provide units of pension not exceeding the number specified in column two of the scale contained in subsection (1) of section thirty-seven of this Act opposite to the salary group within which his salary fell on that date.
(2) Where a contributor who has elected to increase his contributions in accordance with sub- section (1) of this section is retired before the first day of July, one thousand nine hundred and fifty- two, on the ground of invalidity or physical or mental incapacity to perform his duties, or dies before that date, the State shall pay to the fund in respect of each year that a pension shall be payable, the amount by which that portion of the pension payable to or in respect of the contributor as the result of his election exceeds so much of that portion as is equivalent to the contributions made by him in respect of that portion and the Consolidated Revenue Fund is, to the necessary extent, hereby appropriated accordingly.
(3) Any increased contribution payable in pursu- ance of subsection (1) of this section shall be payable as from the date of the election.

1947.] Superannuation and Family Benefits. [No. 65. (4) Where a contributor of the kind mentioned in subsection (1) of this section has not elected to take the full benefit available to him under this section within the time specified in subsection (1) of this section, the provisions of subsection (9) of section thirty- seven of this Act shall apply in respect of any later application made by him. Provided that for the purposes of this section the first anniversary date will be regarded as the day of expiration of one year from the date of the commencement of the Superannuation and Family Benefits Act Amend- ment Act, 1947.

Section forty of the principal Act is amended by inserting the words "compounded annually" after the word "annum" in line ten of the second proviso thereto.	Amendment
of s. 40.

10.

Section forty-one of the principal Act is amended

by inserting after subsection (3) a new subsection as

follows

Amendment

of s. 41.

11.

(3a) Where a contributor has made an election to contribute for a pension upon retirement at an age Election to	contribute for
full pension

earlier than sixty-five years, the Board may, upon at age 61 to

application by the contributor, permit him to elect 65 years.

to contribute for a full pension upon retirement at a

later age up to sixty-five years and in such case his

contributions shall be adjusted. accordingly.

12.   After Division 3 of Part IV. of the principal Act New division

3A.

the following Division is inserted:—

Division 3A—Reserve Units of Pension.

42A. (1) There shall be a Reserve Units of Pen- Reserve units of

tion Account (in this Division referred to as "the Pension.

c. Owlth. No

Account"), which shall form part of the fund and 35 of 1947.

into which shall be paid all contributions made by

contributors under this Division.

(2) A contributor who is contributing for the number of units of pension corresponding to the salary group within which his salary falls may, from time to time, elect to contribute, in accordance with this Division for one or more reserve units of pen- sion, with a maximum of four.

No. 65.] Superannuation and Family Benefits. [1947.

(3) Contributions in respect of a reserve unit of pension shall, subject to subsection (2) of section forty-two of this Act, be in accordance with the rate prescribed in the appropriate Schedule to this Act, and shall be payable as from the date on which the contributor elects to contribute for that reserve unit of pension.

(4) Where a contributor who is contributing for one or more reserve units of pension becomes eligible to contribute for one or more additional units of pension in pursuance of the provisions of this Act, he may elect to transfer to the Fund the contribu- tions paid by him to the Account in respect of a number of reserve units of pension not exceeding the number of those additional units of pension.

(5) Where a contributor so elects, no further con- tributions shall be paid into the Account in respect of the reserve units of pension to which the election applies and the contributions payable by the con- tributor in respect of the additional units of pension equal to the number of those reserve units of pension shall be at the same rate as the contributions paid into the Account in respect of those reserve units of pension.

(6) Where a contributor is contributing for one or more reserve units of pension, he may, subject to subsection seven of this section, elect to discon- tinue his contributions in respect of any number or all of those units. In that event or if he ceases to be an employee, there shall be paid to him or to his personal representatives, from the Account, the amount of the contributions made by him in respect of those reserve units of pension, together with interest, compounded annually, on those contribu- Loris, at the rate determined by the Board in respect of the period or periods concerned.

(7) A. contributor who has made an election to reduce the number of reserve units under subsection six of this section shall not again be eligible to elect to contribute for reserve units of pension.

1947.] Superannuation and Family Benefits. [No. 65.

13. Section forty-three of the principal Act is amended '01",°"1""`

as follows:

(a)	By deleting from lines five and six the word "one-half" and inserting in lieu thereof the word "three-fifths."
(b)	By adding to the section the following new pro- of. Cwith. No-

35 of 1947,

viso:— s. 12.

Provided that, where a contributor, under section thirty-six or section sixty of this Act, elects a is called upon to retire at age sixty years or later age and elects to con- tinue to pay contributions at the Tower rate until he attains the age of sixty-five years, the employing Department shall continue to pay the "employer" contributions for the corresponding period to the Board on behalf of the State.

14. A section is inserted in the principal Act after Jew section 46A.

section forty-six as follows:—

Rate of

Pensions to

46A.. (1) Notwithstanding anything to the con- be increased- °with.

trary in this Act, where, at the date of commence- Superannua- tion Act,

is in receipt of a pension under this Act, not being a pension payable in respect of a child, the amount of the pension shall be increased by one-quarter.

ment of the Superannuation and Family Benefits 1947, s. 31.

(2)

The State shall pay to the Superannuation Fund the amount of the increase and the Consolidated Revenue Fund is, to the extent necessary, hereby permanently appropriated accordingly.

(3)

The provisions of this section shall apply in respect of the first fortnightly payment of pension made after the date of commencement of the Super- annuation and Family Benefits Act Amendment Act, 1947, and in respect of all subsequent payments.

15. Section fifty-six of the principal Act is amended -okinsu .n5dament

by inserting " (1) " after the section number and adding

to the section a new subsection as follows :—

purposes of this Act, be deemed to have resigned on 1945, s. 5. (2) A female employee who marries shall, for the cf. OwIth.

the date of her marriage.

No. 65.1 Superannuation and Family Benefits. [1947.

Amendment

of s. 58.	16. Section fifty-eight of the principal Act is amended
cf. °with. No.

35 of 1947,

by deleting from subsection (1) the words "twenty-six

s. 14.

pounds" and substituting the words "thirty-two pounds

ten shillings."

Amendment

of s. 61. 17. Section sixty-one of the principal Act is amended

as follows :—

S.A. No. 29 of

1942, s. 8.	(a)	By inserting in subsection (1) in line one after the word "Contributor" the words "who has been a contributor for at least three years."
cf. Cwlth.
(b)	By inserting in subsection (1) in line three of subparagraph (ii) of the proviso to paragraph (c) after the word "shall" the words "pro- vided she married before the commencement of the Superannuation and Family Benefits Act Amendment Act, 1947."
Superannua-
tion Act,
1942, s.11.
S.A. 50 of
By inserting after subsection (3) a new subsec-
1946, s. 9.	(c)

tion as follows :—

(4) Where a contributor who has been a contributor for less than three years is retired on the ground of invalidity or physical or mental incapacity to perform his duties, he shall be entitled to a refund of the actual amount of the contributions made by him.

Amendment

of s. 63. 18. Section sixty-three of the principal Act is

cf. CwIth.	amended as follows:—
1947, s. 16.

(Orig. 32.)	(a)	By deleting from paragraph (a) of subsection (1) the words "twenty-six pounds" and sub- stituting the words "thirty-two pounds ten shillings"; and
(b)	by deleting subsection (3) and inserting in lieu

thereof a subsection as follows :-

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in this section, where a contributor or a Pensioner marries after he has attained the maximum age for retirement, or after his retirement from the service (including retirement under section sixty-one of this Act), pension shall not, upon his death, be payable to the widow or in. respect of her children, or the children of that marriage.

1947.] Superannuation and Family Benefits. [No. 65.

19. Section sixty-four of the principal Act is amended rindrent

by inserting " (1) " after the section number at the begin- N. 1942,

ping of the section; and by adding to the section a new

subsection as f ollows

(2) Where a male contributor or a male pensioner whose wife is dead or divorced has died leaving children of himself or of his wife who were under the age of sixteen years at the time of his death, and all such children have attained the age of sixteen years; and the total amount of any pensions paid to the contributor or pensioner and in respect of the children is less than the total amount of the contri- butions paid to the fund by the contributor or pensioner, the Board shall pay a sum, equal to the amount by which the said pensions are less than the said contributions, to the guardian of the children or to some other person approved by the Board, to be used for the support and education of the children.

20. Section sixty-eight of the principal Act is amended „Afr.n6rent

as follows :—

(a) By inserting after the word "sixty" in line

four the words "and subsection (4) of section

sixty-one"; and

(b) by adding to the section a further proviso as

follows :-

Provided also that any such refund or payment shall exclude the amount, if any, credited by the State to the fund in respect of contributions for the period or periods during which the contributor served in the naval, military or air force.

Amendment

21. Section seventy-eight of the principal Act is of s. 78

amended by adding thereto a new subsection as

follows :-

(6) Where a pension is cancelled by the Board under this section, the pensioner shall be regarded as a contributor and notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (1) of tins section he shall be required to pay his contributions in accordance with section forty-seven of this Act.

No. 65.1 Superannuation and Family Benefits. [1947.

Amendment

of s. 80. 22. Section eighty of the principal Act is amended as follows :-

(a) By inserting in subsection (1) after the word "Service" in line three the words "or in any public department under the Crown"; and

(b) by inserting in subsection (1) after the word "re-employment" in line seven of the proviso thereto the words "but such exemption shall be limited to one term of twenty-eight days where the period of employment or re- employment is continuous for more than twelve months."

()with. 1942,

s. 50A (4).	(c)	By inserting in subsection (3) after the word "greater" in line seven the words "or, if the payments from the State are equal, of only one of those pensions."
New division

5 of Part V. 23. After Division 5 of Part V. of the principal Act

the following Division is inserted:—

Division 6—The Provident Account.

Provident

(Voluntary	83A. (1) There shall be a Provident Account which shall form part of the fund and into which shall be paid all moneys paid to the fund by, or by authorisation of, any person under this Division.
Savings)
Account.

(2)

No payment whatever shall be required from

or be payable by the State in respect of subscribers

to the Provident Account.

Subject to such conditions as are prescribed any person (referred to in this Division as a "sub- scriber") employed in a department may authorise the deduction from his salary and payment to the fund or may pay directly to the fund any sum of money, subject to subsection (6) of this section. A subscriber may at any time increase the rate of his subscription.

(3)

Such moneys shall be credited to such sub- scriber and shall accumulate with interest at a rate per contain per annum compounded annually, which rate shall be fixed by the Board from time to time.

(4)

A subscriber by whom or on whose behalf moneys are paid to the fund under this Division shall not he regarded as a contributor for the pur-

(5)

:1947.] Superannuation and Family Benefits. [No. 65. poses of this Act, nor shall lie be entitled to any benefits, other than as specified in this Division, in respect of moneys credited to the Provident Account.

(6)

Subject to subsection (2) of section eighty- three B of this Act, amounts credited to the Provi- dent Account shall be in multiples of one shilling per fortnight.

(7)

Subject to subsection (4) of section eighty- three B of this Act, a subscriber, after giving written notice to the Board and provided that he has made regular fortnightly subscriptions to the Provident Account for a period not less than five years, may withdraw from the Account the whole or portion of the moneys standing to his credit under this section.

When a subscriber ceases to be employed in the Service, the amount standing to his credit in the Provident Account shall be paid to him or to his personal representatives, or failing them, to such persons, if any, as the Board may determine.

(8)

(9)

The provisions of section forty-nine and the proviso to section fifty of this Act in regard to unpaid amounts shall not apply in respect of sub- scriptions to the Provident Account, except in the cases referred to in subsection (2) of section eighty- three B of this Act.

(10)

Except in regard to paragraph (a) of the pro viso to section sixty-eight of this Act, that section shall not be applied to refunds or payments from the Provident Account.

(11) Subject to this Act, a subscriber may elect to become a contributor at any time and thereupon the provisions of section thirty-two of this Act shall apply. Where such an election is made, the employee shall have the option of contributing

(a) at the rate of contribution prescribed for his age at the date of commencing to con- tribute to the Provident Account, and payable from that date, the amount stand- ing to his credit in the Provident Account without interest (which shall not be pay-

No. 65.] Superannuation and Family Benefits. [1947.

able or chargeable to such subscriber or contributor) to be utilised to the extent necessary to meet the arrears of contri- butions; or

(b) at the rate for his age at the date of making the election, in which case the interest credited as per subsection (4) of this section shall stand to Ins credit.

(12) Nothing in this Division of this Act shall operate or be deemed to operate so as to preclude a subscriber from becoming or continuing to he a contributor under this Act.

Provident	83B. (1) A female contributor under this Act
Account.

Pemale	may at any time elect to transfer to the Provident
subscribers.
Account the whole of the contributions paid by her to the Fund or the portion in respect of units in excess of two.
(2) A female employee who is not a contributor for a pension under this Act and who elects to become a subscriber, or a female contributor who elects to transfer the whole of the contributions paid by her for a pension under this Act to the Provident Account, as provided for in the last preceding sub- section, shall

(a) contribute to the Provident Account at a rate not less than would be required for contributions for two units of pension under this Act, at the rate for her age at the date of such election, or, if higher (subject to the next succeeding subsec- tion) at the rate of one shilling for each complete pound of her gross fortnightly salary; and

(b) continue to contribute to the Provident Account while she continues to be an employee.

(3) Where a subscriber under subsection (2) of

this section satisfies the Board that adequate pro-

vision has been wade for herself, the Board may

1947.] Superannnation and Family Benefits. [No. 65. exempt her from subscribing at a rate higher than that for two units referred to in paragraph (a) of that subsection.

(4)

Where a female subscriber is not a contributor for a, pension under this Act, subsection (7) of section eighty-three A shall apply only in respect of subscriptions made in excess of the fortnightly contribution specified in paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of this section.

The provisions of subsection (3) of section thirty-three of this Act and section eighty-one of this Act shall apply to a female subscriber under subsection (2) of this section while she continues to be a subscriber.

(5)

24. (1) The First, Second, Third and Fourth tomateui:ss.

Schedules to the principal Act are repealed and there gfai'vAhabt,	6.28.
shall be deemed to be inserted by this Act in lieu thereof—

(a) as the First Schedule to the principal Act the Appendix A. to the proclamation under sub- section (2) of section forty-one of the Super- annuation and Family Benefits Act, 19381939, dated the twelfth day of December, 1945, and

published in the Gazette on the fourteenth day

of December, 1945;

(b)	as the Second Schedule to the principal Act, the first and second columns of Appendix C to the proclamation aforesaid.;
(c)	as the Third Schedule to the principal Act, the Appendix B to the proclamation aforesaid ; and
(d)	as the Fourth Schedule to the principal Act the third and fourth columns of Appendix C to the proclamation aforesaid.

Provided that the headings of the said Appendices A, B and C shall be deemed amended by the deletion of the amounts "252" and "226" (wherever occurring) and the insertion in lieu thereof of the amounts "265" and "V2 10s." respectively.

(2) Unless and until any other tables of contributions

are prescribed under subsection (2) of section forty-two

No. 65.] Superannuation and Family Benefits. [1947.

of the principal Act, any reprint of the principal Act shall contain the said Schedules as deemed to be amended by this Act.

Validation. 25. (1) Insofar as any matter or thing has been done

in purported pursuance of the provisions of the principal Act prior to the commencement of this, the Superannua- tion and Family Benefits Act Amendment Act, 1947, which at the time of the doing thereof was not or may not have been authorised by the principal Act as then in force, but which if done after the relevant provisions of this, the Superannuation and Family Benefits Act Amendment Act, 1947, shall have come into operation, would be authorised by the principal Act as amended by this, the Superannuation and Family Benefits Act Amend- ment Act, 1947, the doing of such matter or thing is confirmed and validated.

(2) Any adjustments and other arrangements in rela- tion to any matter or thing, which by subsection (1) of this section is confirmed and validated, may be made or effected after the relevant provisions of this, the Super- annuation and Family Benefits Act Amendment Act, 1947, shall have come into operation wherever necessary in order to give effect retrospectively to the provisions of the principal Act as amended by this, the Superannua- tion and Family Benefits Act Amendment Act, 1.947.