Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

THE PENSION FUND 525the result of its experience during the five years which hadelapsed since the previous examination was made. This wasthe more necessary as certain problems of considerablecomplexity had arisen during the previous examination, andit was felt wise to ascertain what light experience had thrownon them. Mr. Thomas Bradshaw was again requested toundertake the examination and his report showed that thefund was in a solvent condition and had indeed an apparentsurplus, although he pointed out that the period of time whichhad elapsed was too short to enable a decision to be reachedas to whether this was real or merely the result of unusuallyfavourable experience.In the meantime, at the annual meeting held in January,1910, steps had been taken to secure the approval of theshareholders for the establishment of a widows' and orphans'fund, and a grant of $20,000 per annum from the profits of thebank was authorized for the purpose.The number of officers contributing to the Pension Fundhad grown to 460 by the end of November, 1909, and thenumber of pensioners was nine, the annual amount payableto them being $15,156. It was now proposed to grant to thewidow of a deceased officer a pension not exceeding onehalfthe amount to which her husband would have beenentitled at the time of his death; this pension to cease in thecase of her remarrying, and to be subject to a gradedreduction of rate in the case of a considerable difference inage between husband and wife. After the death of bothparents a pension of similar amount was to be provided forthe orphan children, until the youngest should reach the ageof eighteen.As a means of procuring the necessary funds it was proposedto abolish the existing Widows' and Orphans' Fundand Life Insurance Scheme. The former fund, a very smallone, had been started in October, 1895, by a donation fromMrs. B. Ross McConkey (whose husband had been managerof the Guelph branch), to be used by the Board of Directors