Unemployment Insurance Act, 1926

Amendment as to refunds of contributions.

2.—(1) If on an application made under this section the Minister is satisfied that any person who is or has been an insured contributor had before the date on which this section comes into operation—

(a) paid contributions in respect of not less than fifty weeks in accordance with the general provisions of the Principal Act; and

(b) reached the age of fifty years;

that person or his personal representative shall be entitled to be paid out of the unemployment fund a sum representing the present worth as on that date of the amount of the excess value of the contributions paid by him as increased (in the case of an insured contributor who has not attained the age of sixty years) by compound interest at the rate of two-and-a-half per cent. per annum on the amount of that excess value from the date aforesaid until the date on which he would attain the age of sixty years.

(2) An application for a payment under this section must be made in the prescribed manner and within twelve months after the date on which this section comes into operation.

(3) For the purposes of this section—

(a) the amount of the excess value of the contributions paid by an insured contributor shall be taken to be the amount by which the total amount of the contributions actually paid by him exceeds the aggregate of the sums received by him by way of benefit, together with compound interest on that excess up to the date on which this section comes into operation at such rate and calculated in such manner as is directed by section 25 of the Principal Act;

(b) in calculating the excess value of contributions:—

(i) contributions and benefit paid subsequently to the 7th day of November, 1920, shall be reckoned as if they had been paid at the rates at which contributions and benefit were respectively payable under the Principal Act as originally enacted; and

(ii) no account shall be taken of contributions repaid or refunded, of benefit taken into account previously for the purposes of a refund under any of the provisions of the Principal Act, of grants or contributions paid under the Unemployed Workers' Dependents (Temporary Provisions) Act, 1921, of contributions on account of which a payment has been made under sub-section (10) of section 18 of the Principal Act to the body charged with the administration of a special scheme, or, where no contributions have been paid in respect of any person for a period comprising five insurance years, of contributions paid in respect of him, or benefit paid to him, before the last such period; and

(c) the present worth of the amount of the excess value of contributions as increased by any such compound interest as aforesaid (if any) shall be calculated in manner prescribed by regulations, and any regulations made for that purpose shall direct that in making the calculation regard shall be had, among other matters, to the fact that contributions may cease for a period comprising five insurance years to be paid in respect of the insured contributor, and, in the case of an insured contributor who has not attained the age of sixty years, to the fact that he may not live to attain that age.

(4) Payment to an insured contributor under this section shall not affect his liability to pay contributions.

(5) Section 25 of the Principal Act shall cease to have effect except that, where any person had before the date upon which this section comes into operation become entitled to claim a repayment under that section, an application may be made in that behalf under that section instead of under this section at any time within twelve months after the date on which this section comes into operation, and no repayment to which any person may be entitled under section 95 of the National Insurance Act, 1911, shall be made unless an application for repayment is made to the Minister within the said period of twelve months.

(6) If in any case where there is a failure to make any such application as is mentioned in this section within the period of twelve months after the date on which this section comes into operation it is shown to the satisfaction of the Minister that there was good cause for the failure, the Minister may allow the application to be made at any time within two years after the expiration of the said period.

(7) This section shall come into operation on the 5th day of July, 1926.