Northumberland - Payout

Series

Series Name: Mining Review 19th Year

Issue

Issue No.

Date Released

Jul 1966

Stories in this Issue:

Story

Story No. within this Issue

3 / 4

Summary

NoS synopsis: Computer and co-operative society pay miner’s pensions in Northumberland
NCB Commentary - Walbottle, near Newcastle, and in Whitehall Road the postman drops a delivery at No.13.
George Howard is a retired mineworker who’s one of many enjoying a new and more convenient way of collecting his retirement pension.
Once a month George receives a punched and printed form which looks as if it came out of a computer.
It did - from the Coal Board’s computer centre at Newcastle.
Here, punched cards are prepared for every pensioner in the Northumberland and Durham group of the Minerworker’s Pension Scheme. The cards bear all the necessary information and at the computer centre they are checked before being sorted and processed.
So George Howard’s card arrived home, and to George, the card is as good as money. With Mrs. Howard, George sets out on a shopping expedition.
Their local cooperative store is also the Howard’s bank. Here, though an arrangement between the Coal Board and the Co-op, the pension cards can be turned into goods, or cash.
While Mrs. Howard getson with selecting the groceries, George collects at the cash desk.
For many retired folk like the Howards, the link up between computer and co-op is a convenient way of collecting. It saves the old-style visit to the colliery offices - often quite a way from home - and there are over 600 co-op branches which take part in the scheme. Computers plus local initiative equals a load off the backs of many of our old folk.

Researcher Comments

Commentary recorded 3 June 1966.

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