Another matter which concerned, not so much the public as the welfare of
the clerical staff of the railways, was the establishment of
Superannuation Funds; yet the public was interested too, for the
interests of the railway service and the general community are closely
interwoven. Up till now station masters and clerks had struggled on
without prospect of any provision for their old age. Their pay was
barely sufficient to enable them to maintain a respectable position in
life and afforded no margin for providing for the future.
At last, the principal railway companies, with the consent of their
shareholders, and with Parliamentary sanction, established Superannuation
Funds, which ever since have brought comfort and security to their
officers and clerical staff, and have proved of benefit to the companies
themselves. A pension encourages earlier retirement from work, quickens
promotion, and vitalises the whole service. On nearly all railways
retirement is optional at sixty and compulsory at sixty-five.
The London and North-Western was the first company to adopt the system of
superannuation, the London and South-Western second, the Great Western
came third, the Midland fourth, and other companies followed in their
wake.
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