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This series comprises material relating to the introduction and operation of agency services provided by The Post Office. It covers: the payment of Old Age Pensions at post offices; the sale of Health Insurance and Unemployment Insurance stamps; the floatation of the 'War Loan', in 1915, to help finance the war; and the payment of money due to public corporations through The Post Office.

POST 5 comprises a series of quarterly accounts of warrants issued by the Treasury authorising payment, by the Receiver General, of incident bills incurred by the General, Twopenny and London District Post Offices (the Twopenny Post was replaced by the London District Post in 1844).

Accounts cover a wide variety of items and are arranged under general subject headings, such as 'pensions', 'packets', 'tradesmen' and 'rents'. Entries include the date of issue of warrant, what or whom it is for, date payment is due and the amount. Volumes are indexed by person, subject and place. Warrants are mainly for payments of:

· Pensions, salaries and allowances to chief and senior officers, clerks, sorters, messengers and servants working in the London headquarters departments, including offices of the Secretary and Accountant General, and the Foreign, Inland, Express, Mail Coach, Dead Letter and Ship Letter offices; packet agents; surveyors; postmasters; inspectors of mails, letter receivers and carriers and packet ships; commanders and mates of packet ships, or their widows; letter receivers and carriers in London; and mail guards

· Expenses for mail conveyance by sea, including costs incurred by packet ships operating from Falmouth, Harwich, Dover, Whitehaven, Donaghadee, Weymouth, Milford Haven and Holyhead, and in the West and East Indies, notably hire charges, lighting dues, wages and victualling for captains, officers and crew whilst at sea, out of employ or while the ship is undergoing repairs; and ship letter mails

· Expenses for inland mail conveyance, notably for payments to mail coach contractors; road, bridge and ferry tolls; supply and upkeep of fire arms, time pieces, mail bags and mail guards uniforms; mail coach maintenance; and railway and steam packet company charges

· Compensation for abolished offices or duties

· Tradesmen's bills for items supplied or work done

· Legal expenses, notably relating to investigation, detection, capture and trial of felons

· Rents, taxes and rates for offices in London

· stationery printing costs

· Transit postage and tonnage dues to foreign post offices

· Travelling expenses, particularly surveyors'

· Advances or loans (covered by imprest warrants) to employees, particularly seamen.

*There are no indications whether or not POST 5/1-3 include warrants relating to the Twopenny Post Office.

This series relates to arrangements for the payment of pensions, the establishment of the Superannuation Fund in 1821 and the development of the types of pensions payable to include both contributory and non-contributory pensions.

POST 66/18-19 relates to the establishment of the allowance form system and POST 66/22 concerns discussions on the format of order books. POST 66/20 and 22 relate specifically to pensions paid in Guernsey and Jersey . POST 66/24 comprises brief histories of paid allowance and pension orders and postmasters accounts for the twentieth century. The class also includes information on changes to women's employment and salaries, pension fraud and copies of documents conveying a grace and favour pension paid to the Duke of Schonburg and Leinster (POST 66/1).