try 
NW 
MAJORITY REPORT. 
therefore be reduced to a sum of 4s. 0d. a year in the case of men 
and 9d. a year in the case of women throughout life, or the 
equivalents of these amounts in the event of the adoption of a 
form of benefit which does not involve an equal expenditure in 
every year of insured life. The main question for consideration 
is the manner in which this balance in the margin should be 
applied. The following possibilities emerge : 
(1) It could remain as a margin, in which case it would 
serve to strengthen the financial position of all Societies on 
valuation, affording permanent support for additional benefits, 
in the case of what, we hope, will continue to be the great 
majority of Societies. 
(2) 1t might be applied towards the cost of one or more 
of the various extensions of the statutory benefits which have 
been suggested. 
(3) It might be used to reduce the cost of the Scheme to 
one or more of the three contributing parties, viz., the 
insured persons, the employers and the State. 
184. There is something to be said, no doubt, in favour of the 
first of these courses, bearing in mind, particularly, the features 
of the sickness and disablement experience to which the Actuarial 
Committee have drawn attention. But in view of the fact that 
the Committee, relying, no doubt, on the exercise of effective 
supervision of the claims, express the opinion (in paragraph 29 
of their First Report) that the whole of the margin may be 
applied to new purposes, we do not think it incumbent on us to 
recommend that any part of it should be retained as a provision 
in respect of present liabilities. 
185. With reference to the second of the three alternative 
courses, we deal in Chapters X to XII with the various 
forms of extensions of benefit which have been recommended to 
us, and indicate, in regard to those which we regard as 
practicable, the extent to which the available margin would 
render their adoption possible, at the same time stating the order 
of priority in which, in our opinion, the various alternative 
extensions should be placed. 
186. As regards the rates of contribution, a reduction of 1d. 
in the joint weekly contribution of 9d. in the case of men would 
be possible if such reduction could be deemed to be expenditure 
on benefits for the purpose of attracting the State grant, but 
the division of this 1d. between the employer and the worker 
would probably be objectionable to employers, as it would involve 
the deduction of aniodd %d. from wages. If the whole 1d. were 
taken off the worker's contribution, the result would be that the 
deduction from the wages of an employed woman for Health 
Insurance would be 4d. as against 33d. in the case of an employed 
man, though the woman's rate of sickness benefit is lower than 
that of a man. The deduction of the whole 1d. from the