Private Pension Plans Set Record In
Coverage m Resources For Yean
Shows Coming Force In Economy
-U-V’T.*.- ■ — 1 ~ -
Private pension ands£etirement
programs, one of the. hkjor eco
nomic forces built tup* by the
American people through volun
tary decision, have reached new
high levels in their coverage and
resources in a continuation of
their rapid and persistent growth
in recent years.
Today these programs are one
of the fastest-growing of the na
tion’s leading thrift channels, and
are an outstanding example of
how the people are building for
the future and their confidence
in it
Highlights of Growth
Here are some of the highlights
of the balance sheets of these
private pension and retirement
programs, insured and non-insur
ed combined, as the year 1958
gets into its stride; -
Covwraga more than 16 mil
lion members of the working pop
ulation are now on the rolls (ex
cluding retired pensioners), up
more than 7 or 83 per
cent since 1950. Right now, pri
vate pension and retirement pro
grams cover nearly one person in
every three in private nonfarm
employment.
Pensioners approximately 1.3
million persons are now drawing
a pension or receiving a retire
ment benefit under these plans,
about three times a s many as in
1950 when the number of pen
sioners added up to fewer than a
half million. The trend of recent
years indicates that the number of
pensioners will show an increas
ing growth as the plans fn effect
Continue to expand aadt to de
velop more, maturity.
Pension payments —now run
ning at an annual rate pf more
than a billion dollars for the first
time, representing practically a
threefold rise since 1960 when
benefit payments were little more
than $350 millions.
Reserves Rising Rapidly
Reserves—estimated at approx
imately $34 billions at the end of
1957, up about $23 billions from
1950 and triple the total in that
year. Reserves have also been
showing an increasing growth
trend, and the indicated 1957 in
crease of about $4 billions was the
biggest in the record of these pro
grams.
Contributions—total of .employ
er and employee combined now
at an annual level of more than
$4 billions a year, over double
the comparable 1950 figure. Em
ployers are the predominant con
tributors, their proportion run
ning about 85 per cent of the to
tal annual contributions into pri
vate pension and retirement pro
grams.
The number of persons covered
under insured pension plans rep
resents about a third of all those
enrolled under private pension
and retirement programs. The
reserves behind the insured plans,
which now exceed sl3 billions,
currently constitute about 40 per
cent of the x reserves behind all
private pension and retirement
programs.
Taking the broad sweep of pen
sion and retirement programs,
public as well as private, the
figures show that combined con
tributions into these plans are
now running at thA rate of ap
proximately sls billions a year,
more than double the comparable
We've Got It!'
Come & Get It!
HIGH
YIELDING
QUALITY
SEED
CORN 1
Leaned.
m p an y
1950 total. . Pension payments un
der private and public plans com
bined have shown a rate of
growth four times that of con
tributions in the period. They
are now estimated to be at least
SALE BEGINS MONDAY, APRIL 14th
And Continue, Through April 16th
Compare the features of this New WIZARD with Machines Costing $149.50 and More:
Calibrated Tension Dial ★ Sews Forward and Backward Buy with Western Auto's Assurance
Many Machines * Sews Over Pins and Seams ★ Air-Cooled AC-DC Motor that Every Machine is Exactly as Rep-
Costing $149.50 ★ Snap-Out Race for Easy Cleaning ★ Adjustable Drop Feed Control res ented!' Satisfaction Guaranteed
■ _w _ . ★ Super-Sharp Thread Cutter ★ Variable Speed Foot Control n v , , _
° rMOre - ★ Belt-Driven for Immediate Power ★ Easy Inaction Rook ... Or 1 our Money Back! - j
Western Auto Associate Store
South Broad Street ——— Edenton, North Carolina .
TOE CHOWAN HERALD, EDENTON. NORTH CAROLINA. THURSDAY APRIL 10, 1958.
sB billions a year in 1950. These
rates of growth are much great
er than that of the economy as a
whole in the 1950-57 period.
A Stabilizing Force
Thus, from the point of view
of how much they are now con
tributing to the nation’s income
stream, pension and retirement
programs have become one of the
significant stabilizers in the
American economy, and will grow
in importance in the years ahead.
Based on the latest figures, more ■
than 8 million persons 65 years
old and over, or substantially
more than half of this entire age
group, had some assured lifetime
income under a public or private
retirement program in 1956 ex
clusive of life insurance or any
other savings they may have.
Thus the majority of our older
population has some degree of
financial independence, but this is ,
at the mercy of the trend of the
buying power of the dollar. In :
this respect, the rise in .living
costs to new record levels over
the last two years, and the re
newed inflationary pressures in
herent in enlarged Government
spending proposals, pose one of
the major problems of our times.
As a rapidly-growing source of
capital and investment funds for
business and industry (small as
well a s large), Government, and
the home owner, private pension
and retirement programs have
likewise become one of the major
forces supporting the growth of
the economy. ■
An analysis of how the reserves j
behind private pension and re-i
■ j tirement plans are invested, allo-
I eating to the reserves behind in
: sured plans the same proportion
.; of investments as prevail in total
life insurance assets, shows that
■ close to half of all these reserves
i are in corporation bonds. Most of
[ | the balance is divided between
i j Government securities, mortgag
; es and common and preferred
j stocks. Thus the contributions
! | into private pension and retire
j ment programs are being employ- j
;]ed directly to promote jobs and[
■ i opportunity.
IWANTTOSELLI
I Campen-Smith I
I Phone 2412 EDENTON, N. C. Phone 2211 J
TRY A HERALD CLASSIFIED AD
I—SECTION ON!
PAGE THREE