General Chat

I asked for an estimate of mine a few months before my 60th birthday and I was surprised at how low it was when it arrived. When I checked everything I spotted a wrong NI number so rang. It was discovered that I had been given the estimate of someone with the same name as me who lived at one of the villages east of us and who had not worked anywhere near the number of years as I had.

They’d also not taken into account the years I’d spent working overseas and they ought to have done so - even though I’d sent copies of my overseas tax forms etc, which of course they’d either lost or put into the other person’s file. (I never found out which!)

They asked if I could send the originals or copies again to which I replied that I’d rather bring them in to them. Then I was told that if I sent them, they’d forward them to the International Office. Now, I live between the two so I said I’d take them into the IO myself. I had to present them on my 60th so my morning was spent waiting while someone there took them to photocopy as I just did not trust them with the originals.

I got my pension two weeks after that but, of course it was backdated to my birthday.

I worked for two more years and what a coincidence when an elderly vicar came in one day and we got chatting whereupon he said to me, ‘But of course I married you.’

‘No’, says I and told him who married me.

You’ve guessed it, the vicar had married the person with the same name as me.

I was lucky with my pension I got mine at 60 but had to just wait 2 months from the may to July if I has been born a month earlier in April I would have got it on my birthday my sister who is six years younger then me has to wait tell she is 67

I failed my 'O' level maths, so took a GCSE, in my 30's, but I do have an 'O' level in English.
One job I applied for informed me that I had failed, as I needed a GCSE (A - C) in Maths AND English! So, they never noticed the other 'O' levels I had, then, nor the BA(Hons) :-S :-S

I know.....that annoys me too Maggie! Any courses with WEA or other council run courses ignore even including any '0'level qualifications on their forms so you can't truthfully tick any of the other qualification boxes. :-S

I'm still up to working full time, but have realised the County Council - who have most jobs - now use an algorithm, and I presume a very young recruitement team, who don't understand what an 'O' level is! :-| :-| :-|

He's my toy-boy. I have had my pension for ages but he has not been up to working full-time.

Congratulations!
I still have another 14 months to go :-|

On the 16th, OH turns 66 and finally gets his pension.

He still has not been not been notified of the amount so we are not yet able to apply for anything else like housing benefit which I doubt we will be entitled to anyway.

After quite a long time of scratching about, we will finally know exactly what we have coming in and when it will arrive. The world is our lobster!

The first thing I must do is to pay off the credit card because we have been beating it a bit over lock-down. We probably could have lived without using it at all but life was grim enough and we new stability was on the horizon.

The other day, I was thinking how I could indulge myself after we are straight. So far I have decided that I will have a little spending spree and I will buy some more castor oil, lavender oil and Epsom salts. I might even get some decent cheese too!

Oh Boy! Do we know how to live!