THE EARLY PENSION PLANS OF THE BALTIMORE AND OHIO AND THE PENNSYLVANIA RAILROADS, 1880-1937.

Abstract

This dissertation is concerned with the private pension plans developed by the Baltimore and Ohio and the Pennsylvania railroads in the latter part of the nineteenth century. These plans were part of an early period of development that lapsed in the 1930’s when the Great Depression limited the ability of business firms to maintain welfare oriented programs of this nature. Prior to the 1930’s, however, more than 400 formal pension plans were established by railroads and industrial firms in the United States, covering more than an estimated 3,750,000 workers. While much has been written on their early development, the emphasis has been on the number, the coverage, the general characteristics and the financial instability of the plans.