# LCMS Convention Proceedings_St. Louis Missouri_1941_S388
# Machine transcription, uncorrected — CHI Digital Archive (demonstration)

386 Financial Matters

sions, fails to participate in Synod’s Pension Fund by such non-
action releases the Board of Support and Pensions from all obli-°3
gations of supporting the worker and his dependents, and such

salary-paying organization assumes the responsibilities. This pro-
vision shall take effect on January 1, 1943. :

Action of Synod: The first recommendation was adopted, the '
second recommendation was rejected.

Simplification of Pension Plan
(Memorial 815)

The Pension Plan, adopted nearly four years ago, provided
for socialized allocation of employers’ contributions, meaning that
something was to be taken from those in upper-salary brackets
and given to those in lower-salary brackets. Now that we have
had three years of actual experience with socialized allocation, we.
wonder whether the gain is worth the effort and the cost involved.

Let us study the gains. A test was made in the allocations of
last October. The book of work sheets was opened at random,
and 150 consecutive accounts were listed, in which accounts the
workers gained by allocation. In this group one account gained
more than $8 for the year, three gained more than $7, and five
more than $6. On the average the 150 gained $2.70. through
allocation. This was the gain in one year. In ten years the average
gain would be $27, and it would take 37 years for such an average
account to gain $100 in reserves, not including the interest which

would be added.

A little cost analysis is in order. For the first five years Synod |
has agreed to pay the incidental operating expenses. After that ..
first five-year period the pension fund must assume its own ©
overhead. Last fall’s allocation involved listing about 2,500 ac-
counts, making almost 100 pages of calculations, posting more than
5,000 items, and then checking and balancing these same 2,500
accounts. All told, it required about twenty weeks of concentrated
clerk- hire to produce allocations. During the sessions of Synod
the work sheets will be made available to substantiate these *
statements. :

If allocation might be eliminated, all the above operations
would be saved. In addition, there would be other advantages.
_ For instance, it would be possible to have constant cumulative’
totals of both worker’s and employer’s contributions. Also, the ©
ledger total of each worker’s account would always be true. At
present this is not the case, as during eleven months of each year
the balance is subject to the variation caused by allocation. Further,
the worker has no way of checking the annual statement sent to: