bluefluff's blue fluff

Tuesday, October 04, 2005

monkey zoo

No, this isn't about monkeys or zoos - it's just the Wildhearts track I have blasting through as I type ("It's a mystery how we keep on seeing it through We just do, we just do here at the monkey zoo "). My own monkey zoo is taking on a new look these days. Daughter #2 has departed to university (son has been through, daughter#1 is working on it) leaving daughter #3 to bear the brunt of parental neurosis.

Resolution of sorts has been achieved today with husband's decision to take his teacher's pension instead of going through the motions of being a supply teacher (at a time when nobody seems to want supply teachers any more, not that he wanted to be one anyway) just because he couldn't escape early male-breadwinning conditioning. No more hanging by the phone hoping it rings & simultaneously hoping it doesn't. He's asleep, but I'm here imbibing a celebratory brandy or several.

Not an OAP, but an ARP (Actuarially Reduced Pensioner). Makes all the difference. Why didn't we do it years ago?

posted by bluefluff @ 3:04 AM  

8 Comments:

  • At 04 October, 2005 04:39, Blogger Nogbad said…

    The conditioning is diffcult to break - I wake every AM feeling that I should be up and and out despite having a few bob more in the bank than wen I quit the last FT adventure!

    "Handbags and gladrags" on repeat here :-)

     

  • At 05 October, 2005 01:02, Blogger bluefluff said…

    Rod Stewart or Stereophonics?

     

  • At 06 October, 2005 09:25, Blogger Buggles Balham High Road said…

    Congratulations to your husband for taking his pension.

    Morty would like to take his teacher pension but he's 53 and been told he has to wait till he's 60.

    Meanwhile he's supply teaching too and there seems to be a lot of it in Somerset and all his supply jobs have turned into weeks and months with long term sick teachers being signed off for stress.

    He'd like his pension and just boost it with a couple of days teaching a week.

    Its a big step to take but a good one ;-)

     

  • At 08 October, 2005 03:17, Blogger bluefluff said…

    iya Mornev,

    Could I suggest that Morty asks again? If he doesn't mind taking a cut, he's allowed to draw his teacher pension from the age of 55. Alan is 56 & only found out by accident that he's able to draw it - he'll get about 80% of the lump sum & the monthly payment. If he wanted to, he could wait one day after 'retiring' & go straight back to supply!

    This is a useful site: http://www.teacherspensions.co.uk

    I'm copying this to your email, in case you don't see it in the comments :-)

     

  • At 08 October, 2005 16:34, Blogger Buggles Balham High Road said…

    Thanks for this and the link. Thing is he only has about 20 years teaching pension and he is concerned about the cut but I am going to persuade him to get some facts and figures.

    Maybe in a couple of years time he'll think differently and it is good to know that it's there in the background - one of the positive rewards of teaching.

    Funny now he's returned to teaching he's loving it. Maybe because he is a bit of a kid himself.

     

  • At 09 October, 2005 03:43, Blogger bluefluff said…

    Morning - you're welcome :-)
    Alan only has 25 years, not a full record by any means. But he hasn't really enjoyed going back into the classroom as "not our real teacher so we can play up" in some of the roughest schools in Grimsby. Especially after a decade of 6th form college!

    It's a real relief for him & we have his exam work & my OU to live off, so the reduced pension isn't crucial. It's more than he could (or would want to) make from supply, & if we happen to live to a ripe old age we'll just go & sponge off our 4 kids :-)

     

  • At 09 October, 2005 11:54, Blogger Buggles Balham High Road said…

    Morty had three months in a school like that with a long term ill teacher and the class continually asking when Mr So-and-So was coming back which really hurt him.It was a middle school and tough 14 year olds who had playing up down to a fine art.

    But he's now in his third full week in a junior school of lovely ten year olds where his class are telling him they don't want Mrs So-and-So to come back and can he stay.

    This school does job sharing and he wouldn't mind a three day a week contract there so we'll see.

    I bet Alan feels good knowing that phone isn't gonna ring early in the morning asking him to dash to a school at short notice.

     

  • At 10 October, 2005 03:15, Blogger bluefluff said…

    I can imagine junior school might have more "fun" potential :-)
    Alan's placements tended to be very short term (often only one day) in secondary, with a good sprinkling of disaffected year 10/11 kids. He does indeed feel very good to have shed that fearful anticipation!

     

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