On January 31 2020 I left CPE for the last time as Head of Languages and Cultures. I had spent the month with Jessica who is taking over from me. We had spent a good three weeks together going over some of the jobs of the head of department and on leaving all the marks and the modules for S8 were in place. Jessica will make a good Head of Department.
Karen arrived at my place on the Monday and I spent the next few days with my sister and brother-in-law in Belmont. It was really only on the Wednesday that I realised that the rest of my life will be one of doing almost as I wish, when I wish... a very odd experience.
This is the first time in my life, except for a couple of years of being unemployed, that I have not worked and earned a decent living. I suppose the most unnerving part of going into retirement is that I still do not know how much I will be receiving as a pension so planning goes out of the window for the moment. The one thing I do know is that it will be less than I am earning now.
I have 3 pensions from my 38 year career in France. The state pension (regime générale) which is based on the best 25 years salary. This was confirmed in January 2020. The second, which also has been confirmed, is the pension from IRCATNEC (the state complementary pension for non civil servants working in the public sector). Despite having done around 20 years part time, the actual pension is the great net sum of 123€ a month!!!! The 3rd pension is from AGIRIC-ARRCO, which, from what I understand, is a private compulsory scheme for all workers in the private sector in France. They are the ones who are taking their taking their time in letting me know what they will be paying me as from April 1st 2020! Actually, I think I caught them off guard. We have to apply for our pension 6 months before the date we go on the pension. The end of January I wrote a mail asking where things were and in a couple of days (they have to send an answer in 2 days) I got a mail back from them saying that they were missing a couple of documents. (This is the way the French administration gets around not admitting that they have done nothing to date!) What was missing you might ask. Well they wanted my livret de famille (which I don't have as I have not been married in France). I had already told them in my initial application that I didn't have one and had sent them all the necessary documents from the UK. They also asked me for a document that I had received in August 1996 (24 years ago) which, of course I don't have! I wrote to the social security for the document and their records don't go back that far. So I had to write a letter saying that I didn't have this document and am now awaiting their reply.
Added to all of this, there is the worry of whether they will pay me in June, as I have heard stories of the pensions not being paid for 3 to 6 months after retirement. Well this is all just stressing me out so instead of starting this part of my life with serenity, I am starting stressed up!!
My sister has invited me to her place where I am chilling a little, which is why I am in the UK at the moment.
Karen arrived at my place on the Monday and I spent the next few days with my sister and brother-in-law in Belmont. It was really only on the Wednesday that I realised that the rest of my life will be one of doing almost as I wish, when I wish... a very odd experience.
This is the first time in my life, except for a couple of years of being unemployed, that I have not worked and earned a decent living. I suppose the most unnerving part of going into retirement is that I still do not know how much I will be receiving as a pension so planning goes out of the window for the moment. The one thing I do know is that it will be less than I am earning now.
I have 3 pensions from my 38 year career in France. The state pension (regime générale) which is based on the best 25 years salary. This was confirmed in January 2020. The second, which also has been confirmed, is the pension from IRCATNEC (the state complementary pension for non civil servants working in the public sector). Despite having done around 20 years part time, the actual pension is the great net sum of 123€ a month!!!! The 3rd pension is from AGIRIC-ARRCO, which, from what I understand, is a private compulsory scheme for all workers in the private sector in France. They are the ones who are taking their taking their time in letting me know what they will be paying me as from April 1st 2020! Actually, I think I caught them off guard. We have to apply for our pension 6 months before the date we go on the pension. The end of January I wrote a mail asking where things were and in a couple of days (they have to send an answer in 2 days) I got a mail back from them saying that they were missing a couple of documents. (This is the way the French administration gets around not admitting that they have done nothing to date!) What was missing you might ask. Well they wanted my livret de famille (which I don't have as I have not been married in France). I had already told them in my initial application that I didn't have one and had sent them all the necessary documents from the UK. They also asked me for a document that I had received in August 1996 (24 years ago) which, of course I don't have! I wrote to the social security for the document and their records don't go back that far. So I had to write a letter saying that I didn't have this document and am now awaiting their reply.
Added to all of this, there is the worry of whether they will pay me in June, as I have heard stories of the pensions not being paid for 3 to 6 months after retirement. Well this is all just stressing me out so instead of starting this part of my life with serenity, I am starting stressed up!!
My sister has invited me to her place where I am chilling a little, which is why I am in the UK at the moment.
