Richard Smith is in the City of Love. I note that Richard has been living life as it should be lived and that he is the age that Chris Sier died. He is right to recognise that there is a “warp” as you pass through the minimum retirement age and realise that your pension is before you and could be upon you! Richard has his wife’s pension paid to him, the survivor and I remember early death acutely this morning. It was only last month we lamented and celebrated for Andrew Warwick-Thompson.
We cannot work in pensions without living with death as part of life, I know that Richard has felt the loss of his Heather acutely and for many years and I take heart that he has made his life a memorial for her as well as a good life for him.
“Above and beyond” – you sent me this post to remind me of some of the conversations we have had. While we work towards paying people pensions and letting them see what will be paid on the pension dashboard, we warp ourselves. Both you and me and many others, living the lives we do because we have the comfort of a pension paid to us by others.
For most of us , working and receiving a pension will be the reality for the future . Few of us will warp as early as you started. Those of us who do, have an expectation of a life ahead of us and we must be grateful for that , thanking our stars that they shine on us.
Richard
