Fraternity-Testvériség, 1955 (33. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1955-05-01 / 5. szám
I Minding Our Own Business | ^SSS^SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSys^SS^SSSSS^if^itifiStit^SSSSSSSSSSSsVSSSSSSSSSSSySSSSSSSSSSS TESTVÉRISÉG 5 It happens once in a while that members having an endowment certificate with us, when the maturity date is only a few months away, or even sooner, they pay the dues for the remaining months and request the cash payment of the ultimate amount some months ahead of the maturity date. Some of the branch secretaries, thinking that this procedure is allowable, take the advance payments and assure the people the date of maturity. We would like to discourage our co-workers from this practice. The principle is that no amount can be paid ahead of the time of maturity, even if all the dues are paid in advance. The amount to be paid by us must remain in the possession of the Federation until the maturity date. It is easy to say that there would be large amounts involved (as with the gigantic commercial companies) the loss of a few months’ interest would react very unfavorably on the company’s finances. This principle and rule must be applied in our case also. So this is our earnest request to our branch secretaries: don’t encourage this practice and don’t accept advance payments on dues for endowment certificates if the member wants the cash payment before the date of maturity. There are people who still entertain the opinion that when they receive a loan on their certificates, they receive back a part of their own money and can not understand why they must pay interest on their “own money.” Evidently these good people think that paying for life and other forms of insurance protection they put their money in a bank as a savings deposit. These friends of ours forget that life and other insurance protection is just as much a commodity, as a basket of groceries or a pair of shoes. As the purchaser of a basket of groceries receives the counterpart of his money in the goods bought and would never think of considering the money paid for them still his “own”—so the person who buys insurance protection receives the value of his money in the obligation and guarantees assumed by our Federation or any other association in a form of an unbreakable contract. In addition the contract assures the member of certain cash, loan or extension values and privileges, so the small difference between these values and the actually paid dues is the price of the protection, which naturally belongs to the association assuming all these risks. So when the Federation grants a loan to a member, the money lent is the Federation’s money, on which interest must be paid according to the By-Laws. ★ ★ ★ A few branch secretaries, especially the new ones, mistakenly deduct certain expenses from the final amount of the monthly dues they send in with their reports. For instance: when the branch pays for the wreath of a deceased member, in some instances the branch secretary deducts this amount, instead of sending in the bill, to be paid by the Home Office. We have to request our co-workers not to deduct anything without asking the Home Office first. The rule is that the Home Office pays everything. If the branch secretary is good enough to pay for the wreath, he should send in the bill and we will repay him with a Home Office check. Unauthorized deductions not only complicate our bookkeeping, but also cause unnecessary correspondence and delay. ★ * * Here is a problem which will present itself frequently in the future, when members want to exercise their right to make their certificates “paid up”. Suppose the member has a 20 payment life certificates on which he paid dues for the entire 20 years—or has an other certificate, several years old. In the first case he turns in the certificate for the “paid up” endowment. In the second case he does not want to pay dues any more and wants to use his “paid up” privilege according to the table of values attached to the certificate. If both certificates are clear of any indebtedness, there is no difficulty in applying the rules in each case, he earned “paid up” values are granted. But in case there is a loan on the certificates, the matter becomes a little complicated. If the member pays the loan in full, there is no problem; the certificate will be clear and the earned “paid up” value will be granted. If, however, the loan remains, only the NET “paid up” value can be granted, which in most cases will be very small. But the loan will be wiped out through this transaction. If the member leaves the loan on such certificates, he must be aware of the fact that if he neglects paying the interest every year, it will be added to the principal which will be bigger every year and eventually might eat up the entire “net” value. Edmund Vasvary.
