How an Army Pension was paid?

[Melbell]

Hello

Can anyone tell me how Army Pensions were actually paid in 19th Century England, please? 

My ancestor retired in 1813 from the Royal Horse Artillery and was awarded a pension.  His place of settlement was West Grinstead in Sussex and as far as I have been able to establish, that's where he lived out his days.  (I have been searching for years for evidence of his death and/or burial).

What I would like to know is how the money got into his hands, in the depths of rural Sussex.  Was he paid weekly?  By whom?  Did he have to go somewhere to get the money, or was it delivered to his home?  There is a scribbled note on his Army record saying "aged 70. Rheumatism so bad he cannot walk". This would have been in the mid-1840s.

Any information/ideas gladly received.
Thank you,
Melbell.

[Redroger]

Can't help directly, but have the identical prob lem with my 2Xgreat grandfather. In his case he lived in Alford Lincs, date of retirement 1811. To add to the information looked for his service looks as though it has been "padded" to over 10 years. I assume this would be unofficial so that he got a pension. Expect they were awarded for a minimum of 10 years service unless you got killed in the meantime.

[mazi]

What an interesting question.  . I wonder if it was the Lord lieutenant of the county, as the Kings representative, who actually arranged for the cash to arrive, or maybe they were collected from the local magistrate, who was appointed by the Lord lieut.

Mike

[giggsycat]

The first Mail Coach started in 1784 running between Bristol & London. Royal Mail has been with us a very long time!

[Redroger]

A couple of facts wehich frankly don't help a deal. A postal system was introduced by Charles II in 1660, but it was expensive and more importantly patchy. The universal penny post was introduced in 1840 by Rowland Hill, and the concept is still(just) with us today.
It might be worthwhile doping a thorough search as to how the state functioned in the pre industrial era, making payments paying military pensions etc. etc.

[hanes teulu]

It was administered from Chelsea Hospital, involving half yearly declarations in duplicate and singly in alternate quarters. It was paid quarterly by the Collector of Excise in the area the pensioner resided - at least up to the 1840s when monthly payments began to be introduced.

On receipt of the declaration Chelsea Hospital issued 2 "receipts" to cover 2 quarterly payments, passed to the Collector of Excise. On collecting payment the pensioner signed the receipt - and the signed receipt and declaration passed to Chelsea

An alternative to a pension was a commuted payment - a cash lump sum or even the equivalent in a land grant. This was favoured where pensioners emigrated.

[landej]

Thanks for that. It's really interesting info for those of us with army pensioners in our family histories.

[Melbell]

Very many thanks to all who replied, especially to Hanes Teulu.  I am hoping to try to find when the payments stopped as presumably that would mean he had died.  As I said before, I haven't been able to find deaths for him or his wife despite many years of searching.

Melbell.

[Redroger]

I assume the same arrangements would apply to Kilmainham Hospital from whence my ancestor was discharged.  My own opinion is that many of the men living in the remoter parts of the country, in his case rural Lincolnshire would opt for the lump sum? Do any records survive of the pension payments?
I am desperately trying to resolve whether he was born in York, or Dorset. The overwhelmingly amount of evidence says Dorset, but the discharge record says York, with which there were no family connections.