OAP

                                               The AI-generated version of me as an old geezer.

It’s happened.

I just received a thick, white window envelope from the company responsible for the administration of the Thomas Cook pension plan. I sat at the dining room table for a few minutes looking at it, then proceeded to open it carefully to peruse the contents…..

On the 8th of January (less than 4 months from now) I will celebrate my 60th birthday, and so will automatically be eligible to draw my occupational pension earned during my 8-year tenure as a foreign exchange cashier in the now-defunct travel firm.

Now, although a welcome addition to my modest income, it’s hardly a king’s ransom, and won’t even go so far as to cover a week’s worth of groceries every month so there’s no retirement on the horizon…..ever, but it’ll help top up our increasing requirement for cash as the nippers get more and more demanding. I opted for the tax-free lump sum plus a reduced monthly amount as my diabetic condition almost guarantees a ten-year reduction in life expectancy - might as well enjoy things now rather than become one of those cash-hoarding boomers that I flippin’ despise.

So I’ve donned my newly prescribed “computer glasses”, sent off my pension documentation, and put the kettle on to make a cuppa to welcome my windfall. See ya later 9 to 5 er’s.