Mundane facts about your day: Part Deux.

[staffordjas]

Glad I decided to take a screenshot and download covid passport , just incase we go somewhere this weekend where we need one and it wouldn't let me into the App. Just took me nearly an hour to get a verification code sent to be able to get back into the NHS App !

My rather large hints for a 'surprise' Birthday weekend down in Worcester worked .

 

[littleme]

I'm confined to my bedroom as the house is full of teenagers getting ready for a birthday night (meal) out. I got to act as lookout for the car coming to pick them up... Which game me a birds eye view of some kids tipping over a full green bin that's constantly left on the path, and then spreading it everywhere.... Hysterical!

 

[Gramaisc]

I'm confined to my bedroom as the house is full of teenagers getting ready for a birthday night (meal) out. I got to act as lookout for the car coming to pick them up... Which game me a birds eye view of some kids tipping over a full green bin that's constantly left on the path, and then spreading it everywhere.... Hysterical!

Good King Wenceslas looked out.
On the feast of Steven.
When the crap lay round about,
Deep and crisp and even...

 

[littleme]

Good King Wenceslas looked out.
On the feast of Steven.
When the crap lay round about,
Deep and crisp and even...

Naughty little blighters.

 

[staffordjas]

Officially a pensioner , but still don't know how much state pension I'll be getting!

After ringing the other day enquiring why I'd not heard anything , as promised I would by my bday in a previous letter ....." That's an obsolete letter now.NEW system is you get sent payment details by 4 weeks AFTER bday when it's actually paid".

 

[tek-monkey]

Officially a pensioner , but still don't know how much state pension I'll be getting!

After ringing the other day enquiring why I'd not heard anything , as promised I would by my bday in a previous letter ....." That's an obsolete letter now.NEW system is you get sent payment details by 4 weeks AFTER bday when it's actually paid".

Can you do the online check?

Check your State Pension forecast

Find out how much State Pension you could get (your forecast), when you could get it and how you could increase it

www.gov.uk

Mine says 140 at current payments and 180 assuming I pay in for another 8 years before retirement. Quite depressing to realise at about 20 years from retirement my total pensions are only worth half my wages, but I started rather late with the private one.

 

[staffordjas]

Can you do the online check?

Check your State Pension forecast

Find out how much State Pension you could get (your forecast), when you could get it and how you could increase it

www.gov.uk

Mine says 140 at current payments and 180 assuming I pay in for another 8 years before retirement. Quite depressing to realise at about 20 years from retirement my total pensions are only worth half my wages, but I started rather late with the private one.

I did one a while ago , but it said just estimated and it depended on what the Serps contracting out period bit was adjusted to at the time of payout. ( Something like they have to contact the pensions place who had that part of it all those years ago and ask them what it would be worth now in todays money).


Had to apply to claim the state pension back in september in order to actually get it, and claim successful. Letter said paid 4 weeks in arrears , but payment schedule amounts due to be paid would be sent within fortnight before my birthday.
After 2 hours in a queue ringing the number they said to ring if not heard anything , was told I now have to ring another number for new claims. Another hour in that queue....bloke went off to find out what's happening... system changed since I was sent that obsolete letter, and not informed actual amount and when until up to 4 weeks after birthday now. Says he can see my claim was sucessful , but can't tell me how much. Just got to wait for the info in the post and wait until 9th feb until ringing back if not had it.

 

[Gramaisc]

Quite depressing to realise at about 20 years from retirement my total pensions are only worth half my wages, but I started rather late with the private one.

In the days when I survived by doing odd jobs for people, most of the customers were pensioners. None of them were able to spend it all, as little as it seemed to be.

There were positive and negative reasons for this - most had small housing costs, no mortgages, etc - and health issues sometimes reduced their capacity for expensive activities...

Each case was different, and maybe there were people who were too poor to engage me, but it was a reassuring survey, as small as it was.

 

[staffordjas]

Each case was different, and maybe there were people who were too poor to engage me, but it was a reassuring survey, as small as it was.

Anything I get will be a big improvement on the zero income I've had since taking early retirement after a major op. (Apart from the massive £20 a week from my GEC private pension , that I paid extra into for 24 years , after all the promises in the works videos of super payouts at the end.... )

 

[staffordjas]

Felt rather embarrassed after thinking the bloke in the petrol station was talking to me and he wasn't.

Filled up , walked into the shop to pay, no-one else in the shop apart from the cashier.
Him - "Morning"
Me "Morning"
Him - "That's £30 please"
Me - "No , it's only £27.50"

Then realised he was talking to someone paying through the hatch from outside that I couldn't see

 

[tek-monkey]

In the days when I survived by doing odd jobs for people, most of the customers were pensioners. None of them were able to spend it all, as little as it seemed to be.

There were positive and negative reasons for this - most had small housing costs, no mortgages, etc - and health issues sometimes reduced their capacity for expensive activities...

Each case was different, and maybe there were people who were too poor to engage me, but it was a reassuring survey, as small as it was.

Good point I guess, once I'm mortgage free that's nearly 1/3 of my wages freed up. Had hoped there'd be a decent gap between paying that off and actually retiring but again I started late and overpayments took a halt when I kicked out my flatmates and had a child!

 

[Thehooperman]

Felt rather embarrassed after thinking the bloke in the petrol station was talking to me and he wasn't.

Filled up , walked into the shop to pay, no-one else in the shop apart from the cashier.
Him - "Morning"
Me "Morning"
Him - "That's £30 please"
Me - "No , it's only £27.50"

Then realised he was talking to someone paying through the hatch from outside that I couldn't see

I did something similar in Aldi yesterday when one of the shop assistants came and stood next to me and started asking about the bread prices and use by dates.

I was just about to answer him when I realised he was talking into his headset

 

[BobClay]

I'm sat in Barnstaple Hospital waiting for a CT scan after an awful drive up in dense mist. Dreading the journey back if I hit the rush hour.

 

[Gramaisc]

Good point I guess, once I'm mortgage free that's nearly 1/3 of my wages freed up. Had hoped there'd be a decent gap between paying that off and actually retiring but again I started late and overpayments took a halt when I kicked out my flatmates and had a child!

Yeah , it was a small survey, but some of them were people I had worked with, and who spent their entire working lives worrying about how they would manage...

I did something similar in Aldi yesterday when one of the shop assistants came and stood next to me and started asking about the bread prices and use by dates.

I was just about to answer him when I realised he was talking into his headset

Mmm, reminded me of a time I and a station staff member 'saved' a potential 'suicide', then found it was only a bloke having an argument, in Arabic, via a headset, with his wife, about being late home for dinner.

He saw our side - eventually...

 

[EasMid]

Officially a pensioner , but still don't know how much state pension I'll be getting!

After ringing the other day enquiring why I'd not heard anything , as promised I would by my bday in a previous letter ....." That's an obsolete letter now.NEW system is you get sent payment details by 4 weeks AFTER bday when it's actually paid".

My wife's birthday is next week, she's had a letter this morning advising she'll get her first (part) payment (£120 ish) on Jan 19th then every 4 weeks in arrears. The basic pension is £179.?? per week depending on NI contributions.
P. S. Happy belated birthday @staffordjas.

 

[staffordjas]

My wife's birthday is next week, she's had a letter this morning advising she'll get her first (part) payment (£120 ish) on Jan 19th then every 4 weeks in arrears. The basic pension is £179.?? per week depending on NI contributions.

Ohhh thanks for that , they were lying then. I'll ring now and mention that.

My neighbour received hers about a fortnight before her birthday back in October , listing scheduled payment dates and amounts. She had a part payment and then every 4 weeks in arrears as well.

 

[SketchyMagpie]

38 trips around the sun for me today, been so busy with work that it was only my second day off since boxing day and I was determined to get out of the house which is why I was sat on a bench in the Millennium Green awkwardly eating a sandwich under an umbrella earlier... XD

 

[Thehooperman]

I am getting loads of text messages from Rising Brook surgery telling me I need to update my ethnicity details.

Their persistency and increasing urgency in their messages got me thinking:
1) How often do people change these details if ever?
2) Why are they so worried that I may have changed them?
3) If I'd changed my gender wouldn't they already know that?
4)If I'd changed my skin colour wouldn't they be treating me for that or at least know I'm on a dialysis machine?
5) Is this a scam? Apparently not when I rang them to ask but they couldn't explain why I needed to update my details.

Conclusion I ain't clicking on the link nor updating any details.

 

[Gramaisc]

Apart from the recent vaccine campaign, my surgery has never contacted me in 45 years, apart from once telling me they had moved my registration to a new premises, about 20 years ago.

 

[joshua]

I am getting loads of text messages from Rising Brook surgery telling me I need to update my ethnicity details.

Their persistency and increasing urgency in their messages got me thinking:
1) How often do people change these details if ever?
2) Why are they so worried that I may have changed them?
3) If I'd changed my gender wouldn't they already know that?
4)If I'd changed my skin colour wouldn't they be treating me for that or at least know I'm on a dialysis machine?
5) Is this a scam? Apparently not when I rang them to ask but they couldn't explain why I needed to update my details.

Conclusion I ain't clicking on the link nor updating any details.

Why does my doctor need to know my ethnicity?


A: Information about your race and ethnicity helps us make sure we provide the highest quality of care for all patients. Studies show that our racial and ethnic backgrounds may place us at different risks for certain diseases.