I Almost Quit my Pension!
Now I’m being ill-health retired (A WARNING!)
I remember the day I received my first payslip as a hospital porter. It was immediately followed by an immature rant at my supervisor …
“Bloody hell Eamon! Look how much money I’m losing in pension deductions. What a bloody rip off! I’m only 25 years old fer fecks sake. I’ll be stopping that straight away.”
After taking a bite from his whole raw onion (he said it was healthy!) Eamon looked at me in complete disdain, then blurted out one of his lovely speeches …
‘No! you fecking well won’t you stupid bloody Irish Paddy! I’m telling you right now, that’s the worst mistake you could ever make. Even worse than gettin’ married and havin’ kids!
He took another bite. The crunch was louder and the onion juice ran down his chin …
28 years later and sadly, Eamon is no more. But listening to him that day (I wasn’t offended by the way; we’re both Irish!) likely saved me and my family from a future life of poverty.
He continued to explain to me through his terrible onion breath, that he’d been paying into his pension for 30 years. This meant he would be able to pay his mortgage and visit his brother in America. He did both those things before he died and I’m so glad for him (RIP my old friend!)
But my journey has been a bit different from Eamon’s. I have spent 25 years of my working life in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), five of those as a hospital porter, while the last twenty have been as an emergency dispatcher for the Ambulance service.
To cut a long story short, my exposure to trauma over the many years in my NHS career has given me serious PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) And now, despite countless therapeutic interventions over the years, I am no longer capable continuing in my job and being ill-health retired.
So my message to anyone reading this now (especially to the young and healthy), please let me mimic Eamon’s fine Irish tones if you are thinking about not paying into a pension plan …
‘Wind yer feckin’ necks in and get one in place before it’s too late. Yeh might be rockin’ n rollin’ now, but just wait ’til ye get older and all yer bit’s start fallin’ off!’
I have been very fortunate that my NHS pension had an option for ill-health retirement. This means I’ve been able to take it early without penalty. But like everything in the financial world, the plan has been watered down over the years. This means it’s vital that you do some research into the best one to have if you are unlucky enough to become unwell later in life.
There are likely still many plans you can join that could be beneficial, even if you’ve only been paying into them for a relatively short time. As it happens, my wife was ill-health retired many years ago from the police service with only a few years in her pension scheme. While she doesn’t get a huge amount per month, it is still many times more than she paid in. And she will get this payment for the rest of her life!
I really can’t stress enough how much trouble my family and I would be in if I hadn’t listened to Eamon that day. So if you still don’t have a pension plan, or if you’re just young, dumb and full of … as they say. Please think hard and get one as soon as possible. I could save you a lot of financial pain in the future.
Oh .. and maybe start eating whole raw onions too. Apparently they’re very good for you!
Thanks for Reading!
* * *
Originally published at https://medium.com/never-stop-writing/i-almost-quit-my-work-pension-e54ef1bc2e2c
About the Creator
Simon Aylward
Undiscovered Irish Playwright and Poet - Seeker of eternal youth - Wannabe time traveller and believer in spiritual energies - Too many books to read, not enough time!
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Comments (2)
I'm so happy you listened to him. But I'll pass on the raw onions, lol
A brutally honest wake-up call: “I Almost Quit My Pension!” is a heartfelt, humorous, and haunting reminder of why financial planning matters—especially when life throws the unexpected. Read it before you make a decision your future self might regret.