bution, the subsidy not to exceed 60 lire ($11.58) per annum to each person insured. Various minor privileges were also conferred upon the institution. In the main, however, the technical regulations, the tables and computations were to be left to be elaborated by the minister of agriculture, industry, and commerce.

The bill never came up for discussion in the Chamber.

"A Bill for the Establishment of a National Institution for the Insurance of Wage-workers against Invalidity and Old Age" was introduced on April 13, 1897, passed on July 14, 1898, and approved by the Crown on July 17, 1898. Thus the establishment of the national institution for invalidity and old-age insurance followed very rapidly the adoption of the law for compulsory insurance against industrial accidents.

LEGISLATION.

The following is a list of the important laws, decrees, and similar enactments which have been promulgated concerning the National Institution for Insurance of Wage-workers against Invalidity and Old Age since its organization.

(1) The organic law establishing the institution was passed on July 17, 1898, (a) to go into effect one month after the approval of its constitution.

(2) The constitution of the institution was approved by royal decree on June 18, 1899.(°)

(3) The technical regulations of the institution were approved by royal decree on June 18, 1899. (')

(4) Regulations for all branch offices of the institution were promulgated by the royal decree of July 29, 1900. (©)

(5) The provisional tables for computations of earned pensions were approved by royal decree of February 3, 1901.()

(6) Law of July 7, 1901, amending that of July 17, 1898.(c)

(7) Codified text of the law, consolidating the act of July 17, 1898, and the amending act of July 7, 1901, published by royal decree of July 28, 1901. (e)

a Italian text: Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XIX, 1901. German text: Zacher, VI. French text: Annuaire de la Législation du Travail; 2d Annuaire, 1898.

b Italian text: Annali del Credito e della Previdenza, 1899. Atti del Consiglio della Previdenza, Prima Sessione. French text: Annuaire de la Législation du Travail, 1899.

c Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XIX, 1901.

d Italian text: Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XIX, 1901. French text: Annuaire de la Législation du Travail, 1901.

e Italian text: Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XIX, 1901. German text: Zacher, VIa. French text: Annuaire de la Législation du Travail, 1901.

(8) Royal decree of December 22, 1901, authorizing the national institution to write insurance for life annuities. (")

(9) New constitution of the institution, (') approved by royal decree of May 21, 1902.

(10) New technical regulations of the institution, approved by royal decree of May 22, 1902. (©)

(11) Law of July 3, 1902, turning over to the old-age insurance institution certain small abandoned accounts with the postal savings banks. (d)

(12) Law of March 13, 1904, amending the law (codified text) of July 28, 1901.()

(13) Royal decree of June 26, 1904, approving the premium tariffs and general conditions of the popular insurance of life annuities (^) as permitted by the royal decree of December 22, 1901. (See above No. 8 in this list.) ()

(14) Royal decree of September 2, 1904, amending the technical regulations. (9)

(15) Royal decree of September 2, 1904, amending the constitution. (9)

(16) Royal decree of November 18, 1905, amending the decree of June 26, 1904, concerning the premium tariffs and the general conditions of the popular insurance of life annuities. (")

(17) Royal decree of December 16, 1906, concerning the tariffs of workmen's annuities. ()

(18) Law of December 30, 1906, amending the codified text of the law of July 28, 1901, and the law of March 13, 1904.(†)

(19) Codified text of the law, approved by royal decree of May 30, 1907.(*)

a Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XIX, 1901.

Italian text: Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XX, 1902. French text: Annuaire de la Législation du Travail, 1902.

c Italian text: Bollettino de Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XX, 1902. French text: Annuaire de la Législation du Travail, 1902. German text: Zacher, VIa. d Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XX, 1902.

e Italian text: Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XXII, 1904. German text: Zacher, VIa.

f Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XXII, 1904.

g Italian text: Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XXII, 1904. French text: Annuaire de la Législation du Travail, 1904.

h Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XXIII, 1905.

i Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XXV, 1907.

j Italian text: Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XXV, 1907. French text: Annuaire de la Législation du Travail, 1906.

* Italian text: Bollettino di Notizie sul Credito e sulla Previdenza, XXV, 1907. French text: Annuaire de la Législation du Travail. German text: Zacher, VIb.

(20) Constitution of the institution, approved by royal decree of March 18, 1909.(^)

(21) Technical regulations, approved by royal decree of March 18, 1909.(")

Not all of this legislation is in force at present. The new codified texts of the law have successively been substituted for the older texts, and with the approval of the new statutes and regulations the preceding ones were repealed. In the following pages only the legislative acts now in force will be studied in detail. But it is necessary to precede such detailed analysis by a brief review of the changes in legislation affecting the National Institution for Insurance of Wageworkers against Invalidity and Old Age, because only through such study of the changes can the tendencies in the growth and development of old-age insurance in Italy be understood. Briefly, the history of the legislation concerning this institution is: The first law was approved on July 17, 1898, and the actual operations of the fund began in October, 1899.

The first amending act was approved on July 7, 1901, and the codified text of the law was promulgated by royal decree July 28, 1901, and went into effect on August 1, 1901.

The second general amending act was approved on December 30, 1906, and the codified text was promulgated by the royal decree of May 30, 1907. Some of the important changes of this law did not go into effect until March 18, 1909, when the new constitution and the technical regulations of the institution were approved.

LAW OF 1898. The National Institution for Insurance of Workmen against Invalidity and Old Age as established by the law of July 17, 1898, is an institution for voluntary insurance open to all wage-workers who are citizens of Italy. The amount of contributions is left entirely to the free will of the insured, except that a maximum limit of 100 lire ($19.30) per annum is established, and contributions smaller than 50 centesimi (10 cents) are not received. These contributions are credited to each insured person's individual account, but, besides, additions are made to the individual accounts of all persons paying in at least 6 lire ($1.16) during the year. These additions are obtained partly from the interest on the endowment funds and partly from the annual revenues allotted to the institution.

The endowment fund of 10,000,000 lire ($1,930,000) has been formed from two sources, contributing equal shares of 5,000,000 lire ($965,000) each-the net profits of the postal savings banks and the fund of invalidated bank notes not presented for cancellation.

a Statuto in esecuzione della legge (testo unico), 30 maggio 1907. Published by Cassa Nazionale di Previdenza per la Invalidità e per la Vecchiaia degli Operai. Regolamento lectrico, etc., published by the Cassa, etc.

In addition numerous other revenues were diverted to the treasury of the newly-created institution, to be used partly as annual revenues and partly to swell the endowment fund. Even from the annual revenues a portion must be diverted to the endowment fund for the first 10 years, so as to bring it up to 16,000,000 lire ($3,088,000).

The essential feature of this plan is that no definite amount of additional benefits is guaranteed to the insured persons. They appear to be somewhat accidental, depending upon the revenues received by the institution, and being inversely proportionate to the number of persons insured, among whom the amount must be distributed. Only the maximum limit, 12 lire ($2.32) per annum to each person, is established.

The list of revenues diverted to this institution is very interesting. No direct subsidy from the state treasury is given, but a large number of trust funds are thus transferred, as follows:(")

The first fund of 5,000,000 lire ($965,000) was taken from the value of the bank notes issued in accordance with a law of April, 1874, and canceled because of failure to present them for redemption. in accordance with the law of April 7, 1881, which discontinued the compulsory circulation of these bank notes and established certain time limits for their redemption in specie or treasury notes. The amount of bank notes not presented for redemption and therefore canceled by October 1, 1894, was 13,343,796 lire ($2,575,353). The appropriation for the benefit of the old-age and invalidity insurance institution, therefore, amounted to less than one-half of the net gain of the Government from this operation.

The second fund of 5,000,000 lire ($965,000) was taken from the available net profits of the postal savings banks, which were organized in 1876, and by the end of 1896 had accumulated a surplus of 19,652,721 lire ($3,792,975).

The following additional sources of revenue were created for the increase of the 10,000,000 lire ($1,930,000) endowment fund:(')

(1) A law reorganizing the banks of issue was passed on August 10, 1893. The old notes were taken out of circulation on December 31, 1897, and if not presented for payment within five years half their value was to be turned over to the old-age institution.

(2) According to the law of May 27, 1875, deposit accounts of postal savings banks which remain absolutely inactive for 30 years were transferred to the Bank of Deposits and Loans. These are given to the old-age institution.

(3) Deposits in the Bank of Deposits and Loans which remain unclaimed for 30 years were invalidated according to the law of

• Atti Parlamentari, Legislatura XX, prima sessione, 1897, Camera dei Deputati, Documenti No. 66A, Allegato II.

b See Prof. Carlo F. Ferraris in Braun's Archiv für Soziale Gesetzgebung und Statistik, vol. 13, 1899.

May 17, 1863. These invalidated deposits are now transferred to the old-age insurance institution.

(4) By the law of July 7, 1866, dissolving the religious orders, their property was used to form the so-called religious fund. From the proceeds of this fund expenditures for pensions are made to members of these orders and for other religious purposes. Of the excess of the proceeds over expenditures, one-fourth is paid to the local communities where the property is located, and three-fourths revert to the State. Of this share, one-tenth was granted to the oldage insurance institutions.

(5) All other private grants, bequests, etc.

The following sources were designated as regular annual revenues: (1) A portion of the net profits of the postal savings banks-for 1897 and 1898, 30 per cent, and from January 1, 1899, 50 per cent, and in addition to this when the total deposits exceed 500,000,000 lire ($96,500,000), 70 per cent of the net revenues attributable to that excess.

(2) Fifty per cent of the net income from the deposits of court fees and similar court moneys deposited according to the law of June 29, 1882, in the Bank of Deposits and Loans (for 1897 and 1898 only 25 per cent).

(3) Legacies reverting to the State.

(4) The interest upon the endowment fund; and (5) all other

revenues.

These various sources of annual revenue and the interest on the endowment fund are expected to provide means for substantial increments to the personal accounts of the members. These accounts, carefully computed according to the detailed provisions contained in the law, form the basis for payment of pensions.

Normally the accounts were to be liquidated-that is, transformed into annuities when the member reached 60 or 65 years of age, and after at least 25 years have elapsed since the first payment. This rule would not permit the insurance of persons over 40 years of age, and for the first two years insurance for a shorter period (20, 15, or 10 years) was permitted. This was subsequently extended by the law of July 7, 1901, to December 31, 1903, and by the law of March 13, 1904, to December 31, 1905. The conversion of the accumulated account into an annuity was to take place according to the ordinary insurance principles, and according to a special table based upon Italian mortality statistics.

Under certain conditions payment of the entire value or part of the value of the accumulated account was payable in a lump sum instead of as an annuity. Also the annuity could be purchased with reserved capital or alienated capital.

Two forms of insurance are allowed, the plan of reserved payments and the mutual plan; the essential difference between these two