chocolate and confectionery industry pensions

An important element of the PAT’s strategy is to seek to identify and establish relationships with other regional archives in the UK (civic or corporate) which contain pension-related records, in order to provide an overview of this material via the PAT website and thus facilitate research in the field of pensions history.

To begin to fulfil this purpose PAT has used questionnaires to investigate retail sector pensions and now extends this method of survey to chocolate and confectionery companies in the UK.

Cadbury

Pensions information for Cadbury is held by Mondelez International and covers a date range 1906-1980. It includes:

• Trust deeds and rules
• annual reports and accounts
• correspondence
• explanatory booklets
• publicity material

Most of the pension-related material held by Mondelez International is accessible to researchers but appointments need to be made for all research visits. Some items will be restricted due to Data Protection.

Contact details for Mondelez International can be found on the National Archives Discovery website.

Researchers interested in the records of the Cadbury family should contact Birmingham City Council (Library of Birmingham). Additional records relating to Cadbury’s involvement in the cocoa trade in West Africa are held by the Cadbury Research Library at the University of Birmingham.

J.S Fry & Sons Ltd

Pensions information for JS Fry & Sons is also held by Mondelez International and covers the period 1920-1968. It includes:

• Trust deeds and rules
• correspondence
• some payment details

Appointments need to be made for all research visits and some items will be restricted due to Data Protection.

An important element of the PAT’s strategy is to seek to identify and establish relationships with other regional archives in the UK (civic or corporate) which contain pension-related records, in order to provide an overview of this material via the PAT website and thus facilitate research in the field of pensions history.

To begin to fulfil this purpose PAT has used questionnaires to investigate retail sector pensions and now extends this method of survey to chocolate manufacturers in the UK.

Rowntree

Pensions information for Rowntree's is held by the Borthwick Institute for Archives at the University of York and covers the period 1862 – 1969. The full catalogue to series and item level has not been made available on line as yet.  Collection level description is available on the National Archives’ Discovery website

The Borthwick Institute for Archives also holds annual reports, accounts, correspondence and minutes for pension schemes of associated companies such as Northern Motor Utilities Ltd and a variety of explanatory booklets and promotional material relating to the scheme

Access to any Rowntree's material containing personal information that is less than 100 years old is subject to the researcher completing a Data Protection form which must then be approved by an archivist.  Any researcher wishing to copy Rowntree company records must apply for permission from the Borthwick Institute for Archives: http://www.york.ac.uk/borthwick/remote-services/copying/

A summary of pensions information in the Rowntree company archive:

• Trust deeds (mainly printed copies rather than signed originals)
• Pension Trust Ltd memoranda and Articles of Association
• Pension Fund rules
• annual reports and accounts
• actuarial valuations and reports of the Pension Fund and Widows Benefit Fund
• correspondence of the Pension Fund secretary
• Pension ledgers
• membership records.

Pensions information in the Rowntree company archive includes:

Records of the Board of Directors

Trusts:  Pension Fund

The Pension Fund was established in 1906 and followed consultation with Cadbury Bros and the North Eastern Railway Co. The consulting actuary was George King of London, E.R. Cross acted as solicitor and specialist legal advice was also sought. C. Fanthorpe was the Fund Secretary.

Trust Deeds and related papers

[The following deeds and rules are all printed copies rather than signed originals]

• Pension Fund Trust Deed and Rules 30 Oct 1906 with manuscript notes indicating the paragraphs altered in the new Pension Scheme of Oct 1913 (R/B6/1); Pension Fund Trust Deeds and Rules 1 Nov 1921 (R/B6/2); Digest of Pension Fund Trust Deed and Rules, Mar 1955 (R/B6/3); Pension Fund Trust Deed as amended 2 Oct 1962 (R/B6/4); Pension Fund Trust Deed as amended 15 May 1964 (R/B6/5); Pension Fund Trust Deed as amended 30 Jan 1968 (R/B6/5a)
•  Rowntree Pension Trust Ltd Memoranda and Articles of Association 18 Aug 1933 with mss amendments to 12 Oct 1958 (R/B6/6); Rowntree Retirement Allowances Trust Ltd Memoranda and Articles of Association 29 May 1958  (R/B6/7); Rowntree Associated Companies (Staff) Pension Trust Ltd Memoranda and Articles of Association 19 Mar 1962 (R/I36/8); Rowntree Associated Companies (Works) Pension Trust Ltd Memoranda and Articles of Association 5 Mar 1962 (R/B6/10)
• Rowntree Associated Companies (Staff) Pension Fund Rules, [1962] (R/B6/9)
• Rowntree Associated Companies (Works) Pension Fund Trust Deed, Aug 1962  (R/B6/11)
• Leaflet giving details of alterations to benefits of Pension fund and Widows' Benefit Fund, 1 Nov 1951 (R/B6/14)

Reports

• Annual Reports and Accounts of the Secretary to the Trustees, with Actuary's Quinquennial Valuations and memoranda Nov 1907 - Dec 1921 [Secretary's file copies] (R/B6/15)
• Actuary's Report (signed) 21 May 1912 for year ending Oct 1911 (R/B6/16)
• Quinquennial reports on Actuarial Valuations of Pension Fund and Widows' Benefit Fund 31 Oct 1936 [copies of BSR and C. Fanthorpe] (R/B6/17)
• Pension Fund and Widows' Benefit Fund Report year ending 31 Oct 1953 with mss working papers; quinquennial valuations 1911-1956, giving figures for employer's contributions, subscriptions, refunds, interest, pensions paid, expenses, assets and liabilities; forecasts 1951-1986, concerning expenditure. number of women members, pensions payable, new pensions, etc; statistics concerning wages, wage increases and pensions, 1932 -1953, other figures [concerning wages] 1862 - 1953 (R/B6/18)
• Correspondence of the Pension Fund Secretary, 1910 - 1920; Annual Reports, 1910 - 1912, memoranda on various subjects, including the pensions of those serving in His Majesties Forces.
• Report of the Actuary and Valuation of the Pension Fund as at 31 Oct 1948, with report the Directors concerning the removal of the company's guarantee of solvency of Pension Fund, 1948 (R/B6/20)

Miscellaneous

• Rule booklets from Pension Schemes of: North Eastern Railway, 1881 and Cadbury Bournville Works, 7 Sept 1925 (R/B6/21)
• Material relating to the Golden Jubilee of the Pension Fund, drafts of articles [?for souvenir booklet], photographs of trustees, graphs of fund performance, 1956 R/136/22

Widows' Benefit Fund

• Trust Deed and Rules 25 Oct 1921, with copy minute 250 of Central Works Council, 16 Feb 1920 relating to the new pension scheme (R/B6/23)
• Digest of Trust Deed and Rules, Oct 1947, Mar 1955 (R/B6/24)
• Digest of Trust Deed and Rules, Oct 1947 with manuscript amendments, 1955 (R/B 6/25)
• Trust Deed, as amended to 2 Oct 1962 (R/B6/26)
• Rules, as amended to 2 Oct 1962 (R/B6/27)
• Actuary's Report 1917 (copy of BSR with notes for speech written on the reverse) (R/B6/28)
• See also Papers relating to the establishment of the Widow's Benefit Fund, 1917 - 1922, (R/DH/SR/43)

Rowntree’s Pensions Section R/DL/LP

• Private Ledger 1907 - 1945: Revenue Accounts, Balance Sheets and summary of annual balances of the Pension Fund, 31 Oct 1905 - 1945 and the Widows' Benefit Fund, 31 Oct 1918 - 1945 (R/DL/LP/1)
• Pages from Pension Fund Ledger:  Pages relating to employees who left the Pension Fund during 1946 and 1947: Name, date and place of birth, date of joining Fund, date of leaving Fund and reason, balance of account, also in some cases, marital status, date of marriage and date of birth of wife; with figures for contributions, interest and total balance, per half year, c. 1937 – 1947  (R/DL/LP/2)
• Membership Records; Separate schedules for men and women according to date of birth/age, giving the number of members [ie those making contributions], new members and members who have died (with details of payments made), retired or left, 1955 - 1972  (R/DL/LP/3)
• Leaflets and memoranda on the Pension Scheme; Mens' Scheme, Oct 1906, Womens' Scheme, Oct 1906, Travellers' Scheme, Oct 1907, Death Benefits for members, nd,[Annual] Report for 1913 with new rules, Conditions of Widows' Benefit Fund, Nov 1917, Details of the Pension scheme and current funds and benefits, Oct 1920, table of the weekly pension paid according to age at entry, nd (R/DL/LP/4)
• Copies of articles by F Cromer about how the Pension Fund works, with correspondence and booklets concerning the Pensions and Widows' Benefit Funds, 1955 - 1956, 1964 (R/DL/LP/5)

Company Pension Scheme (R/DH/SR/10-15)

Headquarters Division, Company Solicitor

• General Papers of E.R. Cross, Solicitor, concerning the establishment of the pension scheme, including outlines of the aims of the scheme and progress as to decisions made on setting up the scheme; instructions to counsel, notes of discussions and interviews, correspondence with George King; draft rules and trust deeds and correspondence, Jan 1905 - Aug 1906 (R/DH/SR/10)
• Correspondence of E.R. Cross, Solicitor, relating to the establishment of the pension scheme, concerning actuarial, legal and investment advice and use of insurance company; finance, administration, wording of the deed and rules; also consultation with Cadbury and North Eastern Railway over the terms of the scheme; Jun 1905 - Sep 1906 (R/DH/SR/11)
• Case for opinion and draft trust deed for the Pension Scheme, with related papers, 1906 [GC] (R/DH/SR/12)
• Draft Regulations and related notes, including proposals for a pension fund for women, tables of premiums for different ages to secure certain pensions, c. 1905 - 1906; minutes of the consultative committee, Sept 5th and 6th 1906 (R/DH/SR/13)
• Rules relating to travellers' pensions, and statement relating to rnens', womens' and travellers' schemes, 1906 - 1907 (R/DH/SR/14)
• Correspondence with George King, Consulting Actuary, and tables of employees' and firm's contributions, 1906 - 1907; tables of the cost of special concessions granted to West Indian whites, Aug 1907; correspondence between [trustees] and current employees over 65 concerning their retirement and pension arrangements, 1906 – 1907 (R/DH/SR15)

Headquarters Division: Company Secretary private papers.

• Rowntree Pension Trust Ltd (Rowntree Mackintosh Pension Trust Ltd from Jun 1976) Correspondence concerning directors and shares, with AGM Minutes, declarations of trustetc 1966 - 1979, Annual Accounts for 1966, Memoranda and Articles of Association, 1967, mostly Registrar's correspondence (R/DH/SC/30)
• Rowntree Associated Companies (Works) Pension Trust Ltd.  Correspondence concerning directors, 1966, Annual Accounts for 1965 and 1966, AGM notices and agendas, 1967 (R/DH/SC/32)

Rowntree Associated Companies (Staff) Pension Trust Ltd (N.M.U. = Northern Motor Utilities Ltd)

• Correspondence concerning directors, 1966, Annual Accounts for 1965 and 1966, AGM notices and agendas, 1967 N.M.U. (1953) Ltd and N.M.U Pension Fund, correspondence and papers relating to shares and directors, 1963-1978; declarations of trust and share transfers, 1961 - 1966; declarations of trust concerning shares in N.M.U. Pension Trust Ltd, 1966 - 1967, and shares in N.M.U. (1953) Ltd 1966, resolution changing the company name from N.M.U. (1953) Ltd to N.M.U. Transport Ltd, Dec 1970, (R/DH/SC/42)