or if it should also be paid if he had ceased to contribute but had not withdrawn
his own contributions from the scheme. In addition to paying the death benefits,
it would seem appropriate to return the member's own contributions on his death.
Lump Sum at Retirement
15. Clearly, the member's own contributions not already refunded will be
available for return to him, with interest, when he attains age 60.
As an
incentive to remaining insured until that age, an additional lump sum derived from the employer's contributions might be provided. How much that lump sum
could be must wait until some experience of the scheme is available. In view
of the option to enter and leave the scheme at any time, the amount of any
lump sum from the employer's contributions should not be a fixed sum or a fixed
proportion of earnings but should bear a relation to the period of contribution (excluding any period for which a refund has been previously taken); this might most readily be attained by expressing the amount as a proportion of the member's
contributions being refunded at the same age.
16. We would not support the idea of a 'no claims bonus' which would, in our
social view, be contrary to the objects of a special insurance scheme. It would
penalize those in poor health who might need a lump sum just as much or more than other contributors.. It would also face with an awkward problem the man
who fell sick for the first time not long before retirement; it might pay him
not to claim sickness benefit.
Housing Loan)
17. The proposal to provide housing loans is attractive and provided a proper
of dan interest rate is charged and adequate security allowed there is no actuarial
objection to the scheme. If the terms were such that there would be a sudden
large demand for such loans at a particular time (e.g. at the end of the first
five years) the investments of the scheme would have to be so arranged that they
were easily realizable at that date. This would presumably mean that in the
early years investment would have to be mainly in short-dated securities.
Investment Bonus
18. The proposed annual investment bonus might most easily take the form of an
annual declaration of the rate of interest to be credited for that year on the
member's accumulate contributions to date. This rate would depend on the
performance of the fund's investments.
17 C