Retirement Systems and Morale in Public Service
| Published date | 01 May 1924 |
| Author | H.H. Baish |
| Date | 01 May 1924 |
| DOI | 10.1177/000271622411300146 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
338
THE
ANNALS
OF
THE
AMERICAN
ACADEMY
For
instance,
an
employe
entering
the
service
at
the
age
of
forty
may
retire
with
a
maximum
allowance
at
seventy,
whereas
an
employe
appointed
at
eighteen
must
serve
fifty-two
years
be-
fore
he
reaches
the
retirement
age
of
seventy.
He
must,
therefore,
serve
twenty-two
years
longer,
and,
if
salary
conditions
are
the
same,
pay
into
the
retirement
fund
more
than
70
per
cent
in
excess
of
the
employe
entering
at
the
age
of
forty,
although
receiving
the
same
annuity.
Again,
a
high
salaried
employe,
from
whose
salary
a
much
larger
sum
is
reserved,
before
reaching
retirement
age
may
find
it
more
advan-
tageous
to
resign
and
withdraw
his
con-
tribution,
as
he
may
obtain
a
larger
annuity
from
an
insurance
company
than
would
be
allowed
by
the
Govern-
ment.
The
lower
paid
employe
re-
ceives
a
very
substantial
advantage
over
the
higher
paid
employe.
Effects
of
the
retirement
law
which
may
be
noted
in
passing
are
that
the
annuities
provided
are
so
small
that
the
higher
paid
employes
can
ill
afford
to
retire
in
favor
of
the
younger;
and
employes
are
compelled
to
contribute
to
the
fund
without
receiving
annuities
properly
related
to
contributions.
The
ages
for
retirement
(seventy
for
the
clerical
grades)
are
set
too
high
to
attract
younger
employes.
With
its
defects
the
Retirement
Act
4 is
vastly
’A
digest
of
the
Federal
Civil
Service
Retire-
ment
Law,
Part
VIII,
of
this
volume,
p.
343.
better
than
no
provision
for
super-
annuation.
Honorable
Thomas
Ewing,
formerly
Commissioner
of
Patents,
testifies :
These
employes
of
the
Government
are
proud.
They
are
proud
of
their
service.
They
are
proud
of
their
Government.
And
they
ought
not
to
be
subjected
to
dis-
association
from
the
Government
under
conditions
that
break
their
pride
and
that
perhaps
break
their
hearts
and
kill
them.
Mr.
Hays,
when
Postmaster-Gen-
eral,
said:
Heads
of
departments
and
higher
officials
inaugurate
policies
and
give
inspiration
to
greater
accomplishments
in
the
public
service,
but
the
men
who
devote
their
lives
and
talents
to
the
Government,
carrying
on
the
work
in
a
continuity
of effort
and
devoted
faithfulness,
are
responsible
for
a
large
measure
of
accomplishments
and
suc-
cess
which
are
realized
in
the
function
of
the
Government.
These
men
forego
the
opportunities
offered
by
industry
and
en-
terprise
to
those
who
carry on
the
world’s
work.
They
miss
the
prizes
and
rewards
that
come
to
those
workers.
The
Govern-
ment
capitalizes
their
efforts
and
faithful-
ness,
and
it is
only
fair
consideration
and
compensation
that
some
commensurate
return
should
be
guaranteed
them
for
the
long
years
of
service.
The
retirement
law
has
recognized
this
in
a
measure,
but
the
benefits
paid
are
entirely
too
small
and
it
lacks
the
provision
for
retirement
upon
an
adequate
compensation
after
a
specific
period
of
service.
Retirement
Systems
and
Morale
in
Public
Service
By
H. H.
BAISH,
Secretary
of
State
Retirement
Board,
Commonwealth
of
Pennsylvania
A STUDY
of
the
history
of
retire-
ment
systems
for
public
employes
in
the
United
States
reveals
the
fact
that
probably
no
other
kind
of
social
jegislation
has
ever
been
enacted
with
such
an
inadequate
understanding
of
the
costs
involved
and
purposes
to
be
served.
Almost
all
the
earlier
retire-
ment
systems
have
been
abandoned
or
reorganized,
either
because
they
be,
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