§ 18. Sir B. FALLEasked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether, in view of the principle laid down in the reply to Item 4 of the 1923 Welfare Requests, that the first period of 12 years' service is not pensionable service unless the engagement to complete time for pension is entered into, he will authorise the payment of the sums received from the Colonial Governments for ratings lent from the Imperial Navy to Colonial Navies as contributions to the pension funds to such of those ratings who have left the service at the expiration of their first continuous engagement?
§ Commander EYRES-MONSELLPension contribution is claimed in respect of all naval ratings lent under agreement to Dominion, etc., Governments. The contribution is claimed at flat rates based upon actuarial calculations which take into account all contingencies for all men, including, not only average awards of long service and disability pensions, but also an average of failures to qualify for the award of a pension of any kind, e.g., men who do not re-engage to complete time for pension. If refund of contribution were allowed in the cases of men who fail to qualify for a pension or a gratuity based on service, then the rate of contribution would necessarily have to be considerably increased. The Admiralty do not consider that the existing arrangement should be disturbed.